Kosovo are seeking their first win as they host Romania in Group I of the 2024 European Championship qualifiers. They have been plagued by too many draws lately and another stalemate could be on the cards as the Romanians have not been particularly convincing on their travels.
Kosovo have technically made an unbeaten start to their qualifying campaign, playing out draws in their two matches so far. They began with a 1-1 draw with Israel in their opening fixture before playing out a similar scoreline with Andorra.
While Kosovo will take comfort in the fact that they are yet to taste defeat in the qualifiers and will be particularly pleased with the results in Israel. However, the draws do not do them much good as they are already four points off the pace with matches against Switzerland and Romania still to come.
The draws have been a general problem for Kosovo, even at home as they have been held in their last three matches in front of their fans. One of the issues is a lack of discipline at the back as Alain Giresse’s men have kept just one clean sheet in their last 11 home matches across all competitions.
Romania have made a 100% start to their qualifying campaign having won their opening two matches. They look set to go head to head with Switzerland for supremacy in the group with both teams setting the early pace at the top of the standings.
The Romanians began their campaign with a 2-0 victory in Andorra before returning home for a 1-0 win over Belarus. While manager Edward Iordanescu will be pleased with his team’s showing, he will also realise that a trip to Kosovo represents their first major test in the qualifiers.
Romania have won their last two away matches, although both wins have come against minnows Moldova and Andorra. They were winless in the previous four matches having faced the likes of Finland, Montenegro and Israel.
How the bookies view it
Kosovo have the slight edge among the bookies and are priced at 8/5 by Paddy Power to claim the win. A victory for Romania is valued at 2/1 by William Hill while a draw of set at odds of 11/5 by bet365.
Head to head
This will be the first ever meeting between Kosovo and Romania.
Players to watch
Vedat Muriqi is yet to find the net in these qualifiers but is generally considered the biggest attacking threat for Kosovo. The striker has five goals in his last six international appearances and is priced at 8/5 by bet365 to score anytime on Friday.
Dennis Man has been in fine form for Romania in recent times with four goals in his last six international appearances. The attacker was also on target in the last away fixture in Andorra and could be backed to find the net on Friday at 10/3 with bet365.
Anything else catch the eye?
Kosovo and Romania have shown little defensive solidity lately and given the quality in their attacks, both teams could be backed to score at 10/11 with William Hill. The Romanians saw over 2.5 goals in their previous fixture and a repeat is priced at 13/10 by BetVictor, who is also offering odds of 18/5 for over 3.5 goals.
The Kosovars have seen more goals after the break in their last four matches across all competitions and Friday’s clash can be tipped to follow a similar pattern at 6/5 with Paddy Power.
This Euro 2024 match between Kosovo and Romania will be played on Jun 16, 2023 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Kosovo vs Romania prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
