Ireland vs Bulgaria prediction: EUROPE: UEFA Nations League – League B/C – Relegation betting tips on match 2025-03-22 19:45.
[p]It’s advantage Ireland ahead of the second leg of their UEFA Nations League (UNL) promotion/relegation play-off against Bulgaria, with the Boys in Green coming from behind to earn a 2-1 win in the first leg in Plovdiv on Thursday night. That makes them favourites to extend their unbroken stay in League B of this competition into a fifth successive cycle, while victory also stretched their unbeaten H2H run to eight matches (W3, D5).[/p]
[p]Ireland have never been beaten by Bulgaria on their own turf (W3, D4), so are bound to be confident of getting over the line here. Stringing together back-to-back wins is not something they’re used to though, having never done so in the UNL or under Heimir HallgrĂmsson, and the last time they managed it in competitive matches was back in March 2019![/p]
[p]Set against the backdrop of off-field chaos surrounding manager Ilian Iliev’s future, Bulgaria were left bitterly disappointed to give up the lead in the first leg. The Lions are up against it now as they aim to return to League B at the second time of asking, but they have form for keeping things tight on the road in this competition, with only two of their 11 such matches being decided by multi-goal margins (W3, D5, L4).[/p]
[p]Bulgaria have kept clean sheets in four of their last five UNL outings on the road (W2, D2, L1), most recently winning 1-0 in Luxembourg. A much tougher challenge awaits here as they look to win successive away matches in the UNL for the first time ever, while the Lions are also looking to win back-to-back games as visitors across all competitions for just the second time since 2016.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Midfielder Finn Azaz scored his first international goal on Thursday, and Ireland fans can find encouragement from the fact that four of his last five goals for Middlesbrough came on home soil. Martin Petkov’s goal in the first leg made it four strikes in seven matches for club and country, the last three of which came before half-time.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Only one of Ireland’s previous 11 UNL home games saw both teams score.[/p]
[p][i]Written by Ryan Fisher[/i][/p]