Latvia vs North Macedonia prediction, H2H & Probable Line-ups - October 10, 2024
One of the UEFA Nations League group stage matches will be held on Thursday in Riga, where Latvia will face North Macedonia at the Skonto Stadium. Here's a preview and prediction for the game from the Dailysports expert team.
Latvia
Latvia's start to this Nations League campaign was far from ideal, suffering a crushing 1-4 defeat to Armenia away. However, Paolo Nicolato's squad quickly bounced back, securing a crucial 1-0 victory over the Faroe Islands thanks to a strike from Renārs Varslavāns.
This result lifted Latvia to third place in their group, trailing Armenia only on goal difference. With a win in the upcoming clash against North Macedonia, Latvia could contend for the top spot in the group, although it won’t be easy as they face the group’s main favorite.
North Macedonia
North Macedonia didn’t have the best start either, surprisingly drawing 1-1 with the Faroe Islands, despite initially trailing. However, in the second round, Blagoja Milevski's team showed more discipline in defense and, despite playing the entire second half with ten men, claimed a vital win over Armenia, earning their first three points of the current year.
This victory was Macedonia's first of the calendar year, though they faced far from elite opponents. It's worth noting that in their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, North Macedonia finished third in their group, albeit pulling off a few unexpected results along the way.
Match Facts
- Both teams scored in two of the last three meetings between these sides.
- The "Total Over 2.5 goals" bet landed in two of the last three encounters.
- Only one of Latvia's last eight matches saw "Total Over 2.5 goals" hit.
H2H
North Macedonia has defeated Latvia in all three previous encounters. The last meeting was in Euro 2020 qualifying, where the Macedonian side won 2-0 in Latvia.
Probable Lineups
- Latvia: Matrevics, Tobers, Balodis, Jurkovskis, Ciganiks, Saveljevs, Zelenkovs, Savalnieks, Varslavāns, Ikaunieks, Gutkovskis
- North Macedonia: Dimitrievski, Ashkovski, Manev, Musliu, Bardhi, Alimi, Babunski, Dimoski, Elmas, Miovski, Churlinov
Prediction
Bookmakers favor the visitors, with North Macedonia's odds of winning at 2.15. We believe the Balkan side will emerge victorious in this match.