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Bulgaria national football team
Euro Champ Qualifying | Group Stage
Mar 24, 2023 at 5pm UK
 
Montenegro national football team

Bulgaria
0 - 1
Montenegro

FT(HT: 0-0)
Krstovic (70')
Savic (43')

Preview: Bulgaria vs. Montenegro - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Friday's Euro Champ Qualifying clash between Bulgaria and Montenegro, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Bulgaria will be looking to continue their impressive start under new manager Mladen Krstajic when they host Montenegro in the first round of Euro 2024 qualifying on Friday.

Joining Hungary, Lithuania and Serbia in Group G, Bulgaria and Montenegro will both fancy their chances of reaching the competition proper in Germany next year, but a strong start is vital.


Match preview

Serbia manager Mladen Krstajic on March 23, 2018© Reuters

Following the resignation of Yasen Petrov, Bulgaria appointed Mladen Krstajic as manager in July 2022, and the new boss wasted no time in turning things around.

The Lions kick-started the Krstajic era with a 5-1 thrashing of Gibraltar before claiming clean-sheet victories over North Macedonia and Bulgaria, with a goalless draw against Luxembourg in November capping off a four-game unbeaten streak.

Having recorded three wins and one draw since Krstajic's arrival – scoring eight goals while conceding just once – the Bulgarians will be confident of enjoying a successful qualifying campaign in the coming months.

Bulgaria have only featured at two European Championships over the years, exiting at the group stage in 1996 and 2004, so Krstajic's men could be the team to end the nation's two-decade wait for major tournament football.

Montenegro's Milutin Osmajic celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates on March 28, 2022© Reuters

As for the Brave Falcons, they have failed to qualify for each of the four European Championships since Serbia and Montenegro's disbandment back in 2006.

In fact, Montenegro endured a winless qualifying campaign for Euro 2020, recording three draws and five losses to finish rock bottom of their group, with three goals scored and 22 conceded.

Miodrag Radulovic replaced Faruk Hadzibegic as manager following that campaign, but the current boss has failed to transform the team's fortunes, overseeing six wins, six draws and 10 losses since taking the reins in December 2020.

Not only have Montenegro failed to win any of their last four games – suffering three defeats without scoring – but they have also managed to win just one of their previous seven, so Radulovic's men will likely struggle to hit the ground running in Razgrad.

Bulgaria form (all competitions):
  • D
  • D
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • D

Montenegro form (all competitions):
  • D
  • W
  • L
  • L
  • D
  • L


Team News

Montenegro's Sead Haksabanovic in action with Romania's Iulian Cristea on June 4, 2022© Reuters

Fourteen of the 24 players in Mladen Krstajic's squad play their club football in Bulgaria, with captain Kiril Despodov and fellow forward Spas Delev among the notable inclusions.

Having already made four appearances for the Lions, 18-year-old Inter Milan midfielder Nikola Iliev could join Werder Bremen's Ilia Gruev in the host's midfield.

Ivan Dyulgerov, Ivaylo Markov, Hristiyan Petrov and Stanislav Shopov are all in line to make their international debuts on Friday, although the newcomers are expected to start on the bench.

With 31 international goals under his belt, Montenegro captain Stevan Jovetic will lead the line for the visitors, while Atletico Madrid centre-back Stefan Savic will marshal the defence.

Lazio's Adam Marusic is likely to join Savic in the backline, with Celtic's Sead Haksabanovic expected to operate in a more advanced role.

Vladan Bubanja is the only member of Montenegro's squad without a senior international cap, so the 24-year-old midfielder will be eager to prove himself to Miodrag Radulovic.

Bulgaria possible starting lineup:
Vutsov; Galabov, Antov, Hristov, Nedyalkov; Kirilov, Krastev, Gruev, Iliev; Despodov, Delev

Montenegro possible starting lineup:
Mijatovic; Vesovic, Vujacic, Savic, Murasic; Jovovic, Scekic, Vukcevic, Haksabanovic; Jovetic, Mugosa


SM words green background

We say: Bulgaria 2-0 Montenegro

Given that Bulgaria have scored eight goals and conceded once across three wins and a draw since Krstajic's arrival, we expect the hosts to secure a comfortable victory over Montenegro, who have managed to win just one of their last seven outings.



For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.


Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 1.5:data


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Game History

How you voted: Bulgaria vs Montenegro

Bulgaria
68.4%
Draw
19.3%
Montenegro
12.3%
171
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Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain870121
Q Scotland flag Scotland852117
3 Norway Norway832311
4 Georgia Georgia82248
5 Cyprus Cyprus80080

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q France France871022
Q Netherlands Netherlands860218
3 Greece Greece841313
4 Ireland Rep. Ireland82066
5 Gibraltar flag Gibraltar80080

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England862020
Q Italy Italy842214
3 Ukraine Ukraine842214
4 Macedonia N. Macedonia82248
5 Malta flag Malta80080

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Turkey Turkey852117
Q Croatia Croatia851216
3 Wales flag Wales833212
4 Armenia Armenia82248
5 Latvia Latvia81073

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Albania national flag Albania843115
Q Czech Republic Czech Republic843115
3 Poland Poland832311
4 Republic of Moldova Moldova824210
5 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands80262

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Belgium Belgium862020
Q Austria Austria861119
3 Sweden Sweden831410
4 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan82157
5 Estonia Estonia80171

Group G

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Hungary Hungary853018
Q Serbia Serbia842214
3 Montenegro Montenegro832311
4 Lithuania Lithuania81346
5 Bulgaria Bulgaria80444

Group H

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Denmark Denmark1071222
Q Slovenia Slovenia1071222
3 Finland Finland1060418
4 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan1060418
5 Northern Ireland flag N. Ireland103079
6 San Marino flag San Marino1000100

Group I

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania1064022
Q Switzerland Switzerland1045117
3 Israel Israel1043315
4 Belarus Belarus1033412
5 Kosovo flag Kosovo1025311
6 Andorra flag Andorra100282

Group J

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal10100030
Q Slovakia Slovakia1071222
3 Luxembourg flag Luxembourg1052317
4 Iceland Iceland1031610
5 Bosnia Bosnia H'vina103079
6 Liechtenstein flag Liechtenstein1000100


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