GEORGIA are gearing up for their first crack at a major finals and will be out to put on a show against Montenegro in their final warm-up game for Euro 2024.
Since gaining independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Georgians have never really come close to reaching either a World Cup or Euro finals.
But their Nations League exploits earned them a play-off slot this time around and they stunned the Greeks to book a ticket for Germany.
With Turkey, the Czechs and Portugal in their group, Georgia will fancy their chances of causing some more surprises at the finals.
This trip to Montenegro is a decent test for their final friendly, even though their hosts have nothing to play for after failing to qualify.
Montenegro lost to Belgium on Wednesday but gave their star-studded opponents a decent game and Kevin De Bruyne only netted the killer second goal deep into stoppage time.
How the bookies view it: Tough one to call
This is a tricky one to call with Georgia having more to play for but the Montenegrins on home soil. Bet365 make Montenegro slight favourites at 29/10, with the Georgians at 7/4 and the draw paying 11/5.
Head to head: Georgia out to break their duck
These nations have only faced off twice before and Montenegro are unbeaten against Georgia. They drew 0-0 in Tibilisi in a World Cup qualifier back in 2009 then won 2-1 at home in the return fixture.
Players to watch: Napoli superstar out to get in the groove
Georgia have surprisingly opted to play just one friendly before the finals so I'd imagine they will field close to their strongest line-up here.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is the undoubted star of the show and the Napoli winger is their most likely scorer after netting four times in qualifying. He's a decent 15/8 for anytime scorer here.
Skipepr Stevan Jovetic is the main man for Montenegro and is on a high after winning the Conference League with Olympiacos. He's the player most likely to trouble Georgia and is 9/4 for a goal.
Probable line-ups
Georgia should be close to full strength ahead of the Euros while Montenegro will probably make a few changes from midweek.
Milos Brnovic will miss out after being sent off against the Belgians late on.
Montenegro: Sarkic, A Vukcevic, Rubezic, M Vukevic, Bakic, Kosovic, Bubanja, Jankovic, Jovetic, Krstovic, Camaj
Georgia: Mamardashvili, Kashia, Kvirkvelia, Dvali, Kiteishvili, Kakabadze, Altunashvili, Kochorashvili, Chakvetadze, Kvaratskhelia, Mikautadze.
Anything else catch the eye?
There's not much between these sides so it should be a close game and the half-time stalemate appeals at 21/20.
Belgium found Montenegro a tough nut to crack in midweek so it could also pay to bet against a lot of goals. Under 2.5 strikes is priced only at 4/6 though so it's only really of use in an accumulator.
Montenegro's clash with Belgium produced 14 corners so it could pay to back over 10 flag kicks in this friendly but I've yet to see any prices for that market. Hopefully some firms will give us prices closer to kick-off.
This International Friendly match between Montenegro and Georgia will be played on Jun 9, 2024 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Montenegro vs Georgia prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
