North Macedonia welcome Azerbaijan to Skopje on Sunday in an international friendly, looking to put an end to a poor run of recent form.
The Lynxes have won just two of their last nine competitive games, while the visitors are on a four-game winning streak, the longest in their history.
Match preview
© Reuters
Having only beaten Gibraltar, the nation ranked 204th out of 211 in the world, since their dramatic World Cup qualifying win over Italy in March, North Macedonia have found goals hard to come by in recent months.
Aside from the seven that Blagoja Milevski's men blasted past Gibraltar, they have only managed two in their other seven games since that famous win, with the latest, an Enis Bardhi penalty, coming on Thursday against Finland.
With a draw to the Scandinavian nation last week, North Macedonia made it four games without a win ahead of their final friendly fixture until their Euro 2024 qualification campaign begins next March with a game against Malta.
Facing the 123rd-ranked side on Sunday, the Lynxes will see the visit of Azerbaijan as an opportunity to close out the year in a positive fashion.
© Reuters
Gianni De Biasi's men, however, will be looking to claim a major scalp, as they aim for a record-extending fifth win in succession.
Having beaten Moldova 2-1 on Wednesday in an international friendly, Milli recorded three straight wins to cap off a successful UEFA Nations League campaign, finishing top of their group to earn qualification to League B.
Defeating 55th-ranked Slovakia along the way, as Hojjat Haghverdi scored a 95th-minute winner, Azerbaijan will not be intimidated by their opponents' much greater FIFA world ranking on Sunday.
With Filip Ozobic in fantastic goalscoring form for club and country, having scored seven goals for Qarabag this season, expect to see a confident side take the game to their hosts.
Team News
© Reuters
Needing a win to boost confidence, we are expecting to see a relatively strong side from the hosts, with Bardhi and Eljif Elmas both playing starring roles.
Ezgjan Alioski should continue at right-back, along with one of the best-performing goalkeepers in Europe this season, Rayo Vallecano's Stole Dimitrievski.
For the visitors, in-form Ozobic should star alongside club mate Ramil Sheydayev, the man with the most caps in the current Azerbaijani squad.
Captain Emin Makhmudov should start alongside Richard Almeida as the holding midfielders, while Shahrudin Mahammadaliyev should start in goal.
North Macedonia possible starting lineup:
Dimitrievski; Alioski, Ristevski, Velkovski, Bejtulai; Elmas, Spirovski, Nikolov, Ristovski; Bardhi; Atanasov
Azerbaijan possible starting lineup:
Mahammadaliyev; Dzhafarquliyev, Mustafazada, Krivotsyuk, Haghverdi; Almeida, Makhmudov; Kokcu, Ozobic, Sheydayev; Qurbanli
We say: North Macedonia 1-1 Azerbaijan
With the lower-ranked nation in much better form here, do not be surprised to see an upset, as Gianni De Biasi's men look to make history.
North Macedonia have quality throughout their ranks, however, and should have enough to salvage a point.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
