Nations League | League C

Nov 14, 2024 at 7.45pm UK

Tose Proeski Arena

N. Macedoniavs.Latvia

Match preview

After a five-game losing streak across friendlies and the start of their Nations League campaign at the beginning of the year, North Macedonia have bounced back in style, winning three matches in a row in Group C4.

Armenia, who are the closest competitors for the top spot in the four-team section and automatic promotion to League B, were no match for the Lions last time out on 13 October. Bojan Miovski and Isnik Alimi secured a 2-0 success in Yerevan with second-half strikes.

With two games left to play in Group C4, North Macedonia are in a strong position at the top of the standings, six points ahead of Armenia and Latvia in second and third. If they get a point on Thursday, they'll be sure to feature in League B of the Nations League during its next edition.

The stats show that the Lions are on track to get the job done on Thursday night. Blagoja Milevski's team has been unbeaten across two home fixtures so far in 2024. They shared the honours in a friendly with Moldova in March and beat Armenia 2-0 in the Nations League in September.

North Macedonia has come a long way in recent years, becoming a force to be reckoned with in international football. Back in 2018-19, when the Nations League first got underway, the team was still in League D. They had to contend with some tough opponents, including Gibraltar and Liechtenstein.

Latvia also played in the lowest Nations League division a few years ago. They had a tough October, with just one point from their matches against North Macedonia and the Faroe Islands.

The Wolves had a tough time controlling the game in Streymoy last time out against the Faroe Islands. The home team took the lead in the first half thanks to a goal from Hanus Sorensen. However, the visitors managed to equalise thanks to Dario Sits's second-half goal.

Latvia have only won one of their first four matches in Group C4, so they're currently in third place in the section table. It looks like it'll be a battle with second-placed Armenia for a shot at promotion to League B via the Nations League playoffs in March.

After a 10-game winless streak on the road, Latvians will be hoping for a win on Thursday night. The last away win was in Liechtenstein during the 2022 Nations League D campaign, which won promotion.

Latvia have had a tough time against North Macedonia over the last decade. The Lions have won four times in a row in this fixture, going back to March 2014. They also won last month in Riga, where RB Leipzig star Eljif Elmas scored.

Recent Performance

North Macedonia Nations League form:DWWW

North Macedonia form (all competitions):LLDWWW

Latvia Nations League form:LWLD

Latvia form (all competitions):LWLWLD

Team News

North Macedonia will be without defender Visar Musliu for the foreseeable future, as the Bundesliga 2 player suffered a broken ankle in mid-October.

It seems likely that the Lions will continue with the back four that kept a clean sheet in Armenia last time out. This means that Nikola Serafimov and Gjoko Zajkov should operate as the centre-back pairing.

Valencia's Stole Dimitrievski will be providing a sprinkling of top-tier quality in between the sticks for the hosts, having managed three straight shutouts for his nation as they close in on Nations League promotion.

After coming off the bench to score the equaliser against the Faroe Islands, Parma youngster Sits could be promoted to the starting XI for Latvia.

If head coach Paolo Nicolato wants to start Sits from the outset, it looks like Roberts Uldrikis will have to drop out of the team, as talisman Janis Ikaunieks is expected to retain his spot.

Possible starting lineup

North Macedonia possible starting lineup:

Dimitrievski; Velkovski, Zajkov, Serafimov, Alioski; Bardhi, Alimi, Kostadinov; Dimoski, Elmas, Miovski

Latvia possible starting lineup:

Matrevics; Cernomordijs, Tobers, Balodis, Jurkovskis; Zelenkovs, Saveljevs, Varslavans, Ciganikis; Ikaunieks, Sits