Belarus vs Bulgaria prediction: EUROPE: UEFA Nations League – League C betting tips on match 2024-09-04 18:45.
[p]UEFA Nations League C (UNL) Group 3 begins in the Hungarian city of Zalaegerszeg, where Belarus will be hosting their three ‘home’ games of this group stage behind closed doors. It promises to be a tightly contested group with just 25 spots separating the four nations within FIFA’s world rankings, of which Belarus (#99) are the lowest following a winless 2024. [/p]
[p]It would be quite a feat for Belarus to do even worse than their previous UNL campaign in the third tier, when they finished bottom of the group without a victory (D3, L3) and only avoided relegation due to Gibraltar and Lithuania faring poorer in their respective groups. Few could rule out a repeat given their terrible run of form this year, failing to score a goal in four consecutive friendlies (D1, L3), putting pressure on head coach Carlos Alós to deliver in his first full UEFA competition.[/p]
[p]Bulgaria’s return to League C last cycle following their relegation from League B in 2020/21 could succinctly be described as ‘unsatisfactory’. A second-place finish in Group 4 papered over the bitter disappointment of failing to triumph in four of their six matches (W2, D3, L1), perhaps the most disappointing of which was the inability to win away to relegated nation Gibraltar (D 1-1).[/p]
[p]But they’ve since had a better time under former national team midfielder Ilian Iliev, forging a six-game unbeaten streak during his tenure (W1, D5). They were big outsiders against the likes of Hungary (2-2), Serbia (2-2), Romania (0-0) and Slovenia (1-1) with Iliev at the helm, the latter three of which came away from home – results which should ensure they travel in a buoyant mood.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Dmitriy Antilevskiy was the last player to score for Belarus and could be the man to end their goal drought after finding the net before half-time in two of his last three club games. Bulgaria’s Kiril Despodov comes into the international window off the back of three successive games in which he contributed to a goal for PAOK (G1, A2) and also boasts superb national team form, scoring or assisting in five of his last six internationals (G4, A2). [/p]
[p]Hot stat: Just one of Belarus’ last ten matches saw both teams score on the day. [/p]
[p][i]Written by Aaron Murphy[/i][/p]