Malta vs North Macedonia prediction: EUROPE: Euro – Qualification betting tips on match 2023-09-11 18:45.
Another UEFA European Championship Qualifying (ECQ) disappointment is looking likely for Group C laggards Malta who have lost all four matches this campaign. While they remain one of the modern embodiments of Pierre de Coubertin’s Olympic motto of participation being more important than triumph, a 1-0 loss to Ukraine in the last round – a team ranked more than 130 places higher – was a victory of sorts after Malta restricted them to a single goal.
The Falcons built upon that result with a 1-0 friendly win over Gibraltar, raising hopes of a shot at halting their 13-game losing streak in the ECQs. The last time they won a Euro qualifier was at home, and although repeating that result would take some doing, another tight performance wouldn’t go amiss.
North Macedonia won the reverse fixture 2-1 in March but not without a late scare and only after their goals came after the one-hour mark. Their form dipped after that victory, though, seeing them concede ten goals in their next two ECQ defeats including their heaviest ever international defeat (7-0) against England in June. It was commendable in this context that the Lynxes bounced back with a 1-1 draw against Italy last weekend, thanks to a late goal beyond the 80th minute.
The visitors hold an outside chance of qualification, remaining three points behind the top-two, and a win here will at least stretch their hopes to the business end of this campaign. Having won all three ECQ H2Hs to date, such a proposition isn’t outlandish although their recent four-game away ECQ form (W1, L3) does little to fuel those thoughts.
Players to watch: A goal from Kyrian Nwoko could make things interesting as his four international goals have seen Malta remain unbeaten (W3, D1). From the visiting camp, Enis Bardhi had a busy game in the reverse fixture assisting North Macedonia’s second goal and picking up a yellow card. He comes into this game with three goals and an assist in his last three matches for club and country.
Hot stat: Malta conceded during or before the 15th minute in each of their last five home ECQ matches.