Northern Ireland will travel to the Fadil Vokrri Stadium in Prishtina for their UEFA Nations League encounter against Kosovo on Thursday night.
The two nations, who will be facing each other for the very first time, are separated by 53 places in the FIFA world rankings, with Kosovo positioned in 107th while Northern Ireland are ranked 54th.
Match preview
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After winning 2-0 away against Cyprus in their opening League C Group 2 fixture last week, Kosovo were condemned to a narrow 1-0 defeat at home to Greece on Sunday.
Anastasios Bakasetas scored the only goal of the game for the visitors in the 36th minute before red cards for Kosovo pair Fidan Aliti and goalkeeper Arijanet Muric rubbed salt into their wounds – the former was dismissed for a second bookable offence in the 71st minute, while Muric was shown a straight red in stoppage time for handling the ball outside the penalty area.
Defeat for Alain Giresse's side brought an end to their four-game unbeaten run in all competitions, their longest such run for three years, and since their promotion from League D in 2018-19, they have won only two of their eight matches in League C.
Kosovo have never beaten a nation ranked in the top 100 in the Nations League, but their impressive 5-0 friendly victory over Burkina Faso (ranked 56th) in March should provide them with some confidence heading into Thursday's clash with Northern Ireland.
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Goals have been hard to come by for Northern Ireland, as they have begun their Nations League campaign with a 1-0 defeat at home to Greece and a goalless draw away against Cyprus.
The Green and White Army recorded 21 shots on goal across these two matches but only four were registered on target. Jeers were heard at the full-time whistle in Cyprus on Sunday and the pressure is now beginning to mount on the shoulders of manager Ian Baraclough.
Northern Ireland have now failed to win any of their 12 Nations League matches since the competition began in 2018, losing nine times and scoring only six goals.
An encounter against European minnows Kosovo, the lowest-ranked nation in League C Group 2, is seemingly a favourable fixture for Barraclough and co to turn their fortunes around.
Four of Northern Ireland's last five international victories have been away from home, including 3-0, 4-1 and 3-1 wins over Malta, Lithuania and Luxembourg respectively within the last 12 months.
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Team News
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Kosovo boss Giresse will be forced to make two changes to his starting lineup, following the dismissals of left-back Aliti and goalkeeper Muric in their last game.
With no other recognised left-backs in the squad, either Napoli's Amir Rrahmani or Mirlind Kryeziu may have to slot in on the left side of a back four, while Samir Ujkani is expected to replace Muric in between the sticks.
Kosovo's all-time leading scorer Vedat Muriqi, who has 18 strikes to his name, is set to lead the line and he could be supported in attack by wingers Milot Rashica and Edon Zhegrova.
As for Northern Ireland, Baraclough is set to stick with a 3-5-2 formation and he is unlikely to make many, if any changes to his starting lineup.
A back three of Paddy McNair, Jonny Evans and Ciaron Brown could all retain their places, shielding goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell.
Manchester City's 18-year-old midfielder Shea Charles, who was handed his first senior international start last time out, could also keep his place alongside George Saville and 136-cap Steven Davis.
Glentoran striker Conor McMenamin made his international debut off the bench on Sunday, but the 26-year-old is unlikely to start ahead of Kyle Lafferty and Gavin Whyte on Thursday.
Kosovo possible starting lineup:
Ujkani; Kastrati, Rrahmani, Dresevic, Kryeziu; Berisha, Loshaj, Zeneli; Zhegrova, Muriqi, Rashica
Northern Ireland possible starting lineup:
Peacock-Farrell; McNair, Evans, Brown, McGinn; Saville, Charles, Davis, Lane; Whyte, Lafferty
We say: Kosovo 1-1 Northern Ireland
A closely-fought low-scoring contest is set to be on the cards on Thursday, and while the two nations will both fancy their chances of claiming all three points, we can see the spoils being shared on this occasion.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
