Preview
It’s difficult to know where to begin when describing North Macedonia’s catastrophic performance against Switzerland. The statistics from that match tell the story on their own and the overall display was simply unacceptable.
Since the arrival of Blagoja Milevski’s successor Goce Sedloski, North Macedonia have failed to score in all five matches, while suffering three particularly heavy defeats against Turkey (4-0), Denmark (4-0) and Switzerland (0-3). The team has struggled to create consistent attacking patterns and has shown serious problems in both organization and execution.
Slovenia played out a goalless draw with Scotland in Ljubljana. The 0-0 result at Stožice gave coach Boštjan Cesar some reasons for satisfaction, particularly because his team managed to keep a clean sheet. Slovenia were also the more dangerous side during the first half, although their attacking output will need to improve if they are to consistently collect points.
Slovenia have a more balanced squad and should be capable of limiting North Macedonia’s main creative players Elmas and Bardhi. If Cesar’s side manages to restrict their influence in central areas, North Macedonia could once again find it extremely difficult to generate meaningful attacking opportunities.
Extra bet: -1.5 handicap Slovenia @ 2.95