North Macedonia v Malta Betting Tips [23 March 2023]
Football - Euro
23 March 2023 14:45
The match
The opening match of qualifiers for the 2024 European Championship is set to kick off with this Group C clash as North Macedonia host Malta. North Macedonia has certainly made some headlines in the last few years on the international stage. They got a win against Germany in the 2022 World Cup qualifying, competed in the group stages of the 2021 Euros and famously knocked Italy out of the World Cup qualifying playoff in March of 2022 before falling to Portugal in the final round. However, North Macedonia is hoping to rebound after a disappointing showing in the Nations League. The Lynxes finished third in Group 4 of League C, facing off against opposing teams Georgia, Bulgaria and Gibraltar. Igor Angelovski’s men have played in three friendly matches since the end of the Nations League group stage. They suffered a 1-0 away defeat to Saudi Arabia before drawing 1-1 at home with Finland. Their most recent outing was in November of 2022 and ended in a 3-1 home loss to Azerbaijan.
On the other side is Malta, unquestioned minnows of Group C. Realistically they’ll be hoping to just stay competitive in their matches as they will be sizable underdogs in the majority. Malta finished second out of three teams in Group 2 of League D in the UEFA Nations League group stage. The Reds would finish with two wins and two losses, putting them some way off of first-place Estonia. Since then, Malta has played in three friendly matches towards the end of 2022. They managed an excellent 2-1 win at home over Israel before another positive result which saw them draw 2-2 with Greece. Malta’s final friendly resulted in a 1-0 home loss to Ireland at the end of November, 2022. Malta will have to face off against 8th ranked Italy in just a few days so manager Michele Marcolini will be desperate for a positive result here.
Key Statistics
- North Macedonia holds the 65th ranking according to FIFA while Malta is ranked 157th.
- Malta has conceded in four consecutive matches.
- Malta has a record of one win, two draws and six defeats over its last nine away matches. The sole win came against 211th ranked San Marino.
- North Macedonia generally has a good recent record against worse ranked teams. The Lynxes have won seven of their last eight matches against teams ranked 100 or higher.
The bet of our experts
North Macedonia is presented with a golden opportunity to get their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign off to a fast start with the welcome of 157th FIFA ranked Malta. While they have struggled to put up positive results lately, this team has a history of performing well against the minnows of world football. They’ve recorded a number of big-scoreline type wins in recent years against this profile of team and we are expecting the hosts to take care of business in Skopje on Thursday. Our North Macedonia vs Malta prediction: North Macedonia -1 European handicap
