A closely fought encounter is expected when North Macedonia host Romania in a 2022 World Cup qualifier in Skopje. There is little to separate both teams at the moment and they look set to cancel each other out.
North Macedonia are currently fifth in Group J, although they sit just two points behind second place Armenia. They have drawn their last two matches in the qualifiers, holding Armenia 0-0 before playing out a 2-2 result against Iceland.
Although North Macedonia secured a point against Iceland, manager Blagoja Milevski would have been left disappointed by the result. They raced to a two-goal lead through Darko Velkovski and Ezgjan Alioski but allowed the Icelanders back into the contest.
The draws means North Macedonia are now unbeaten in the qualifiers since suffering a 3-2 defeat in Romania in their opening fixture. They have struggled at the back and have kept just one clean sheet in their last five matches, conceding 10 goals in that run.
Romania have had a solid international break and travel to North Macedonia off the back of consecutive 2-0 victories over Iceland and Liechtenstein. They had four different scorers in both matches, highlighting their numerous attacking options.
Those two results mean Mirel Radoi's men have now claimed three wins in the qualifiers, leaving them just three points behind Group J leaders Germany. They will be looking to stay perfect in this international window and possibly leapfrog Armenia into second place.
The problem for Romania is a dodgy record on the road as the victory over Iceland was their first win in six away matches. They also struggle defensively on their travels, keeping just one clean sheet in those six matches.
How the bookies view it
North Macedonia have the slight edge among the bookies with BetVictor offering 6/4 for a home win. A victory for Romania is valued at 21/10 with SBK, who is also offering odds of 40/17 for a draw.
Head to head
Romania have five wins while North Macedonia have been victorious just once from six previous matches. The Romanians ran out 3-2 winners in the reverse fixture back in March thanks to a late winner from Ianis Hagi.
Players to watch
Ezgjan Alioski often carries a major goal threat from left back and has found the net three times in his last six matches. He could be worth a punt to score at anytime at 23/5 with Vbet while forward Enis Bardhi could also be worth keeping an eye in the same market at 4/1 with bet365.
Romania have multiple attacking threats and had four different goalscorers in the last two matches. Jovan Markovic often leads the line and is priced at 14/5 by Unibet to score anytime while Ianis Hagi could also be worth considering in the same market at 9/4 with Paddy Power after netting the winner in the reverse fixture.
Anything else catch the eye?
North Macedonia and Romania produced BTTS in the reverse fixture and a similar outcome is priced at 9/10 with SBK. Both teams have a knack for scoring after the break, so the second half could be tipped as the highest scoring half at 11/10 with Paddy Power.
A halftime draw could also be considered at 11/10 with SBK.
This World Cup match between North Macedonia and Romania will be played on Sep 8, 2021 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best North Macedonia vs Romania prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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