Nations League | League C

Oct 15, 2024 at 7.45pm UK

Windsor Park

N. Ireland vs Bulgaria

Match preview

Northern Ireland were left frustrated at the end of their closed-door clash with Belarus on Saturday night after failing to take their chances and secure a win that would have put them top of Group 3.

They had to settle for a goalless draw despite testing the home goalkeeper with a number of first-half efforts and having two goals disallowed, first for offside and then for a foul.

As a result, Northern Ireland have won just two of their 19 Nations League games to date - failing to score in eight - and sit third at the halfway stage of this year's competition.

However, Michael O'Neill's men can now return to Belfast, where they have won both of their last two home games by 2-0 scorelines, and victory over Bulgaria would make it three wins in a row at Windsor Park for the first time since 2017.

Having started their latest Nations League campaign with a win over Luxembourg last month thanks to early goals from Paddy McNair and Dan Ballard, Northern Ireland lost 1-0 in Bulgaria in their second game.

That leaves them without a win in six meetings with Tuesday's visitors, a dismal record of five defeats and one draw since their first appearance in May 1979.

In fact, Bulgaria have kept a clean sheet on each of their last three trips to Belfast, and have kept the back door firmly shut against most of their opponents in 2024.

The Lions have defended fiercely in their own half this year, conceding just two goals in seven games and not conceding a single goal in their entire Nations League campaign so far.

Bulgaria have conceded just one goal in their last three matches - Kiril Despodov's strike in a 1-0 win over Northern Ireland in September - and could now record four consecutive clean sheets for the first time since 2007.

After Saturday's 0-0 draw at home to bottom side Luxembourg, Ilian Iliev's men are level on five points with Belarus, with both sides looking to keep each other and Northern Ireland out of automatic promotion by finishing top of the table next month.

That would also open up a potential backdoor route to the 2026 World Cup, with a place in the play-offs if they falter in qualifying.

With Iliev yet to lose a game in charge of the national team - although seven of his nine matches have ended in draws - Bulgaria will be confident that victory at Windsor Park will take them one step closer to that prize.

Recent Performance

Northern Ireland Nations League form:WLD

Northern Ireland form (all competitions):WLWWLD

Bulgaria Nations League form:DWD

Bulgaria form (all competitions):DDDDWD

Injuries and suspensions

Northern Ireland

9 Shayne Lavery

Bulgaria

No sidelined players

Possible starting lineups

Northern Ireland possible starting lineup:

P. Charles; Hume, McNair, Toal; Bradley, Saville, S. Charles, Price, Lewis; Marshall, Reid

Bulgaria possible starting lineup:

Mitov; Popov, Petkov, Atanasov, Nurnberger; Kostadinov, Chochev; Despodov, Krastev, Kirilov; Kolev