Kazakhstan and North Macedonia will come up against each other in World Cup qualifying at the Astana Arena on Monday afternoon.
The two nations are currently separated by just one place and two points in the Group J standings.
However, it is worth noting that third-placed Kazakhstan have played one game fewer than their latest opponents.
That being said, Ali Aliyev’s hosts' preparations for their latest World Cup qualifier were far from ideal, falling to a 4-1 defeat in a friendly fixture with Belarus on Thursday.
Meanwhile, North Macedonia netted a late equaliser to claim a 1-1 draw with Belgium in their latest qualifier on Friday night, bringing up one of my bets in the process.
That stalemate has seen Blagoja Milevski’s men maintain their unbeaten start to life in Group J, where they sit just two points behind early pacesetters Wales.
How the bookies view it: Kazakhstan to come up short
Kazakhstan will resume their World Cup qualifying campaign as 5/2 outsiders on Boylesports, while a share of the Astana Arena spoils is also considered unlikely at 21/10 with the same firm.
Despite failing to win each of their previous two Group J assignments, North Macedonia will come into this match as 21/20 favourites on Boylesports.
Head to head: Just a second-ever meeting
Kazakhstan and North Macedonia have previously crossed paths on just one occasion, contesting a friendly fixture way back in 2021. North Macedonia ran out 4-0 winners on that occasion, making them an appealing option to score two or more goals on Monday afternoon at 5/4 on Boylesports.
Players to watch: Miovski to make his mark?
Bojan Miovski has scored in three of his last four appearances for North Macedonia. That makes the former Aberdeen man an appealing anytime goalscorer option here at 9/4 with BetVictor.
Maksim Samorodov – who scored during Kazakhstan’s 2-0 win over Liechtenstein – is a general 7/2 shot to repeat the trick on Monday afternoon.
Predicted line-ups
Kazakhstan boss Aliyev could name the same starting XI that claimed a 2-0 win over Liechtenstein on matchday one.
North Macedonia manager Milevski will welcome back Nikola Serafimov after the defender had to serve a one-match suspension against Belgium last time out, however fellow defender Darko Velkovski will miss out due to injury.
Kazakhstan: Sels , Meunier, Faes, Debast, Theate, De Bruyne, Tielemans, Vanaken, Trossard, Doku, Lukaku
North Macedonia: Dimitrievski; Zajkov, Serafimov, Musliu; Ilievski, Alimi, Kostadinov, Alioski; Bardhi, Miovski, Elmas
Anything else catch the eye?
North Macedonia merit support to earn a minimum of five corners on Monday afternoon at 5/6 on Bet 365.
The Lynxes have covered the 5+ corner line in their Group J qualifiers with both Liechtenstein and Wales, hitting five and seven corners respectively.
Look for that trend to continue when they take on a Kazakhstan side that conceded five or more corners in four of their six contests during their most recent Nations League campaign.
GambleAware