Bulgaria vs Belarus prediction: EUROPE: UEFA Nations League – League C betting tips on match 2024-11-17 19:45.
[p]The fate of an incredibly tight UEFA Nations League (UNL) Group C3 will come down to the final round, with Bulgaria in a position where they could win it all or end up with nothing! Ilian Iliev’s troops secured a vital 1-0 win over Luxembourg last time out which propelled them to second-place, just two points behind table-toppers Northern Ireland, who must lose their final match while Bulgaria themselves win if they want to take top spot. [/p]
[p]The Lions will at a minimum be wanting to hold onto second-place which grants them a play-off tie to get into League B, but to do so they must be wary of upcoming opponents Belarus, whom they hold a two-point advantage over. That means defeat here would render their UNL Group C3 campaign fruitless, but with just one defeat in their last 11 matches (W3, D7), it’s easy to see why the Bulgarians are overwhelming favourites to at least avoid defeat here. [/p]
[p]The Belarusians have nothing to lose here as there’s no threat of Luxembourg catching them, so expect them to throw everything they’ve got at their hosts. A few years ago not many people would’ve given Belarus a chance here since they lost five of their first six encounters with Bulgaria (W1), but winning two of the last three H2Hs (D1) proves they’re in with a shout. [/p]
[p]Snatching second-place would brighten up what’s been a rather dismal calendar year for the White Wings, who have registered just a single win in 2024 (D4, L4). There appears scant hope of them adding another win here, as their away form in the UNL is just as big a cause for concern, having won just one of their last seven UNL assignments on the road (D2, L4).[/p]
[p]Players to watch: One of Bulgaria’s most experienced players, Kiril Despodov could get his side off to a flyer, having scored the match opener in six of his last eight international goalscoring outings. Goals have been hard to come by for Belarus, but Evgeniy Yablonskiy does make them count, since his country has won five of the six games he’s registered a goal contribution in (G3, A4). [/p]
[p]Hot streak: None of Bulgaria’s last six UNL matches saw both teams score. [/p]
[p][i]Written by Peter Stavrinou[/i][/p]