THE Czech Republic were one of the surprise packages at the last Euro finals and they head into their final warm-up game with North Macedonia looking to fine-tune their preparations for Germany.
Nobody expected much from the Czechs three years ago in the Covid-delayed tournament but they blazed a trail to the quarter-finals and Patrick Schick ended up joint top scorer with Cristiano Ronaldo.
It would probably be an even bigger shock if they went deep into the tournament this time after only finishing second behind Albania in their qualifying section.
But they scored seven goals against Malta in a friendly on Thursday and will be looking boost confidence further with a victory over North Macedonia.
The Macedonians didn't put up much resistance as they lost 3-0 to Croatia on Monday so this should be a routine win for the Czech Republic if they hit form.
How the bookies view it: Czech mate in this game of chess
After North Macedonia's heavy defeat to Croatia it's no surprise to see them as Bet365's 19/4 outsiders. The Czech Republic are just 1/2 and the draw pays 29/10.
Head to head: North Macedonia out to make history
These sides have only faced off three times before and the Czech Republic have yet to lose, with two wins a draw.
The last two meetings came in 2006 World Cup qualifying, with the Czechs winning 6-1 at home after a 2-0 triumph on the road.
Players to watch: Another Pat on the back
Czech striker Schick heads to Euro 2024 in high spirits after helping Bayer Leverkusen enjoy an incredible unbeaten domestic season. He didn't play against Malta, sitting on the bench throughout, so should start this one and is 6/4 for anytime scorer.
North Macedonia will probably make some changes from their midweek game and Dimitar Mitrovski could start after coming off the bench against Croatia. He's 8/1 for anytime scorer in this friendly.
Probable line-ups
The Czechs will probably make a few changes from the side that started against Malta while North Macedonia are also likely to give some fringe players a run-out.
Czech Republic: Kovar, Coufal, Vitik, Jurasek, Hranac, Soucek, Cerny, Lingr, Cerv, Schick, Hlozek.
North Macedonia: Dimitrievski, Zajkov, Iljazovski, Serafimov, Iliev, Manev, Alioski, Atanasov, Elmas, Mitrovski, Mivoski.
Anything else catch the eye?
The Czech Republic have kept clean sheets in three of their last four matches at home so backing a win to nil could pay off here at 6/4.
With the Czechs scoring so many in their last outing and North Macedonia shipping three against Croatia we could see a few goals. Over 2.5 strikes is priced 17/20 and that looks decent value as I thought the odds would be a lot shorter than that.
With changes likely in the second half this game could easily fizzle out so try betting against a goal after the 75th minute, which pays 5/6 at Bet365.
We only saw six corners when North Macedonia lost to Croatia so betting against a lot of flag kicks could be a smart move. Bet365 price under eight corners at 6/4 for this one.
This International Friendly match between Czech Republic and North Macedonia will be played on Jun 10, 2024 and kick off at 17:00. Check below for our tipsters best Czech Republic vs North Macedonia prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
