Bulgaria will square off against Gibraltar in the UEFA Nations League on Thursday evening knowing that only a win will do if they want to stay in the hunt for promotion from League C Group 4.
At a time when the visitors have recorded just one point from their opening double-header, Gibraltar have started their campaign with two defeats.
Match preview
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While there was a time when Bulgaria were participating in major tournaments, that time has seemingly long passed with the nation down at the third tier of the Nations League.
Being drawn in a group with progressive teams such as Georgia and North Macedonia set up the chance to show that they can still find some consistency on the international stage, but it further exposed that they remain on the decline.
After a 1-1 draw with North Macedonia, Bulgaria alarmingly lost 5-2 at home to Georgia, a result which led to the resignation of head coach Yasen Petrov.
His replacement on an interim basis is Yasen Petrov, who joins the camp at a time when their only victory in eight attempts was at home to Northern Ireland last year.
On a positive note, goals have been scored in each of their last four outings, three of their last five strikes coming from Kiril Despodov.
In sharp contrast, Gibraltar have failed to net over the same period, their current winless streak standing at 19 games in all competitions.
Nevertheless, there needs to be some perspective during this Nations League campaign having earned promotion from the fourth tier, breaking new ground for the country.
Julio Cesar Ribas would not have enjoyed 4-0 and 2-0 defeats to Georgia and North Macedonia respectively, but he will acknowledge that regular games against this level of opponent can aid their efforts to close the gap in quality.
Gibraltar played Bulgaria in a friendly as recently as November 2020, Bulgaria cruising to a 3-0 victory on that occasion.
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Team News
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Ribas will almost certainly make several changes to his Gibraltar XI in a bid to manage their fitness during the final two fixtures.
While Stourbridge forward Reece Styche may retain his spot in attack, veteran Roy Chipolina could be restored to the centre of defence.
Kian Ronan may get an opportunity on the right-hand side of the backline, taking the spot of Scott Wiseman.
The make-up of the Bulgaria side is a bit of an unknown with Ivanov having little time to adopt a different system.
However, there will be changes in personnel, with Iliyan Stefanov a likely inclusion after his goal as a substitute versus Georgia.
Petko Hristov is also in line to be restored to the defence, potentially taking the spot of namesake Andrea Hristov.
Gibraltar possible starting lineup:
Coleing; Ronan, Annesley, R. Chipolina, Jolley, Olivero; Valarino, Torrilla, Britto; Walker; Styche
Bulgaria possible starting lineup:
Mihaylov; Turitsov, Nedyalkov, P. Hristov, Jordanov; Nedelev, Stefanov, Chochev, Despodov; Iliev, Minchev
We say: Gibraltar 0-2 Bulgaria
All things considered, goals and points are going to be in short supply for Gibraltar this campaign, and we expect that to continue on Thursday. Bulgaria are hardly in good form themselves, but the former World Cup participants should have enough quality to secure a comfortable win.
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