Bulgaria's fight to finish at the top of Group 3 of League C in the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League will continue on Friday evening, with the Lions travelling to Stade de Luxembourg to take on Luxembourg.
The visitors are currently third in the table, two points behind leaders Northern Ireland, while Luxembourg are bottom of the section, picking up only two points from their opening four matches.
Match preview
© Imago
Luxembourg opened their Nations League campaign with back-to-back defeats to Northern Ireland and Belarus, but they have drawn their last two in the section, playing out a 0-0 with Bulgaria on October 12, before drawing 1-1 with Belarus three days later.
Luc Holtz's side are bottom of Group 3 of League C, but they still have a slight chance of reaching the promotion playoffs, with the national team only four points behind second-placed Belarus with two games left.
Luxembourg need to win their next two matches and see where that leaves them, but as it stands, they are the huge favourites to be relegated to League D.
The Red Lions have only won once in 2024, which proved to be a 2-1 home success over Kazakhstan in a friendly back in March, while their last competitive victory came against Liechtenstein in a Euro 2024 qualifier in November 2023.
Luxembourg are winless in their previous 16 matches against Bulgaria in all competitions, meanwhile, losing 13 times in the process, which is an indication of the size of their task in this contest.
© Imago
Bulgaria, meanwhile, have won one, drawn two and lost one of their four matches in the section to collect five points, which has left them in third, one point behind second-placed Belarus and two from leaders Northern Ireland.
The Lions drew 0-0 with Belarus in their group opener before recording a 1-0 victory over Northern Ireland three days later.
Ilian Iliev's side were then held to a goalless draw by Luxembourg on October 12, before suffering an incredible 5-0 loss to Northern Ireland, with that result denting their hopes of finishing at the top of the section.
That said, a win over Luxembourg on Friday would lead them nicely into their final game with Belarus on November 18, and they will still fancy their chances of finishing either first or second in Group 3 of League C.
The defeat to Northern Ireland proved to be Bulgaria's first loss since October 2023, and they will be aiming to make it 14 wins from their 17 games against Luxembourg when the two teams lock horns in this contest.
Team News
© Imago
Gerson Rodrigues is the all-time leading goalscorer for Luxembourg with 22, and the forward is again set to start on Friday evening, with no real surprises expected in the home side's XI.
There should also be a spot in the final third of the field for Danel Sinani, who has 13 goals in 67 caps for his country, while Alessio Curci is also set to be handed an attacking role.
The most experienced member of the squad is the captain Laurent Jans, and he should again feature from the start on Friday, with the 32-year-old in line to win his 109th international cap.
As for Bulgaria, Kiril Despodov is the captain, and the 28-year-old is set to earn his 54th cap on Friday night, with the forward bidding to add to the 15 goals that he has managed for the national side.
Aleksandar Kolev is yet to score for his country but could again be given the nod as the centre-forward, while two-goal Radoslav Kirilov is likely to be handed an attacking role against Luxembourg.
There should also be a spot between the sticks for Aberdeen goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov.
Luxembourg possible starting lineup:
Moris; D'Anzico, Korac, Carlson; Jans, Olesen, Barreiro, Pinto; Sinani; Curci, Rodrigues
Bulgaria possible starting lineup:
Mitov; Popov, Atanasov, Petkov, Nurnberger; Kostadinov, Antov; Despodov, Krastev, Kirilov; Kolev
We say: Luxembourg 1-2 Bulgaria
The last three fixtures between these two sides have finished level, and it would not be a surprise to see the points shared on Friday night. However, we just have a feeling that Bulgaria will be able to shade a close match.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
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