North Macedonia vs Azerbaijan Match Analysis & Prediction
20/11/2022 4:00 pm
North Macedonia play host to Azerbaijan at the Tose Proeski Arena on Sunday in an international friendly, looking to put an end to a poor run of recent form.
The hosts have won just two of their last nine competitive matches, while the visitors are on a four-game winning run.
Having only defeated Gibraltar 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 goals that they scored against Gibraltar, Blagoja Milevski’s side have managed to net just two in their other seven matches since that famous win, with the latest coming on Thursday against Finland through Enis Bardhi’s penalty.
With a draw against the Scandinavian nation last week, North Macedonia made it a run of four matches without a win ahead of their final friendly fixture until their Euro 2024 qualification campaign begins in March with a game against Malta.
Facing the 123rd-ranked nation on Sunday, Milevski’s side will see the visit of Azerbaijan as an opportunity to end the year on a positive note.
However, Gianni De Biasi’s side will be looking to claim a major scalp, as they aim for a record-extending fifth victory in succession.
Having defeated Moldova 2-1 on Wednesday in an international friendly, Azerbaijan recorded three straight victories to cap off a successful UEFA Nations League campaign, finishing top of their group to earn qualification to League B.
Beating 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, we expect to see a confident Azerbaijan side take the game to their hosts.
North Macedonia vs. Azerbaijan Head to head
These two nations have previously met on seven occasions in two competitions, where North Macedonia have claimed five victories while they have drawn twice. Azerbaijan have scored five goals and conceded 14 in the process. They played out a 1-1 draw in their last meeting in a friendly in 2018.
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05/09/2001Azerbaijan1North Macedonia1World Cup Qualification
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29/05/2010Azerbaijan1North Macedonia3Friendlies
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10/08/2011Azerbaijan0North Macedonia1Friendlies
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29/05/2016North Macedonia3Azerbaijan1Friendlies
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27/03/2018Azerbaijan1North Macedonia1Friendlies
North Macedonia Team News
Requiring a win to boost confidence, we are expecting to see a relatively strong side from the hosts, with Enis Bardhi and Eljif Elmas playing from the outset.
Ezgjan Alioski should continue at right-back along with one of the best-performing goalkeepers in Europe this season, Rayo Vallecano’s Stole Dimitrievski.
North Macedonia's Last 5 Matches
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12/06/2022North Macedonia4Gibraltar0Nations League
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23/09/2022Georgia2North Macedonia0Nations League
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26/09/2022North Macedonia0Bulgaria1Nations League
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22/10/2022Saudi Arabia1North Macedonia0Friendlies
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17/11/2022North Macedonia1Finland1Friendlies
Azerbaijan Team News
Filip Ozobic is expected to start for the visitors alongside club-mate Ramil Sheydayev, the man with the most caps in the current Azerbaijan squad.
Captain Emin Makhmudov is set to start alongside Ricahard Almeida as the holding midfielders, while Shahrudin Mahammadaliyev should start in goal.
Azerbaijan's Last 5 Matches
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10/06/2022Azerbaijan0Slovakia1Nations League
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13/06/2022Azerbaijan2Belarus0Nations League
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22/09/2022Slovakia1Azerbaijan2Nations League
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25/09/2022Azerbaijan3Kazakhstan0Nations League
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16/11/2022Moldova1Azerbaijan2Friendlies
North Macedonia vs. Azerbaijan: Odds and Predictions
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