Latvia vs North Macedonia prediction: EUROPE: UEFA Nations League – League C betting tips on match 2024-10-09 16:00.
[p]As the lowest-seeded UEFA Nations League C nation at the time of the draw, little was expected of Latvia in their third-tier debut. But a second 1-0 win over Group C4 rivals Faroe Islands in three months (one in the Baltic Cup) has kept Paolo Nicolato’s side in the hunt for survival if not more. But the difficulty is expected to be dialled up here when they host Pot 3 side North Macedonia.[/p]
[p]Since their promotion from League D in September 2022, Latvia have started 14 matches including friendlies as the underdogs and went on to lose 12 including extra time (W1, D1), highlighting that they’ve often struggled against a step-up in quality. The only victory, 2-0 against Armenia in Euro 2024 qualifying, took place at the venue for this encounter (Skonto Stadium), where four members of their new squad also ply their trade in club football. [/p]
[p]North Macedonia’s last outing was also a 2-0 victory at home to Armenia on the second matchday of this UEFA Nations League cycle. It was all the more impressive as they scored twice with a one-man disadvantage and, on that basis, they deserve to start this round atop of the standings. Manager Blagoja Milevski highlighted the matchday one trip to Faroe Islands (D 1-1) as the most difficult game of the group due to an artificial pitch and bemoaned the chances they squandered.[/p]
[p]His confidence in securing automatic qualification ought to be high if they can go one better in Riga, and the team’s last visit to Latvia should be encouraging. It was a 2-0 Euro 2020 qualifying triumph in September 2019, and whilst a match from more than five years ago may not seem of great relevance, seven members of North Macedonia’s starting XI from that day have been selected in Milevki’s matchday squad for this October window. [/p]
[p]Players to watch: Jānis Ikaunieks couldn’t strike for Latvia on the first two matchdays, but has since discovered some sparkling form for his club RFS with four goals from six appearances. North Macedonia captain Enis Bardhi was one of their two scorers in the last H2H and also scored in both of their two Nations League matches in September.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Seven of Latvia’s last eight matches produced under 2.5 total goals. [/p]
[p][i]Written by Aaron Murphy[/i][/p]