North Macedonia vs Italy Betting Odds, Tips, Predictions, Preview 9th September 2023

The fifth round of the qualifying for the European Championship sees North Macedonia and Italy fighting for three points in a thrilling group stage match on Saturday at Todor Proeski Arena, with much on the line for both sides.

The most recent meeting between the two sides ended in a 0-1 triumph for North Macedonia, who are looking to stay on top this coming Saturday at Todor Proeski Arena. No doubt, Italy are planning a comeback, though.

This is the first chance Italy get to avenge their embarrassing defeat to North Macedonia in the playoff to reach the World Cup. They do so with a new coach in charge, as Euro 2020 winner Roberto Mancini jumped ship to cash in on the Saudi dollar. New man in charge is Luciano Spalletti, who arrives from winning the Serie A-title with Napoli.

Prior to the fifth round of the group stage, North Macedonia are number four with three points points, while Italy occupy as place as number three with three points points.

According to Fifa North Macedonia look into their fixture with Italy as number 68 in the world ranking. The visitors sit as number eight.

North Macedonia won't make it out of this group, but they may be able to snatch a few points.

It looks like a close race between two teams for the top spot in the group, and even if Italy don't take it, they should be able to lock down the second place this time.

North Macedonia vs Italy Prediction

North Macedonia Form

North Macedonia have been a bit bleak in their last three matches, although it opened with a 1-0 victory against Faroe Islands. Unable to follow that up, they went down 2-3 against Ukraine, before handing over all three points in a 7-0 defeat against England. North Macedonia claimed a modest two wins in their past six internationals. They also drew one and lost three, scored seven goals and conceded 15.

Italy Form

Six points is Italy have to show from their past three matches, as they beat Malta by 0-2. This was followed by a 2-1 defeat against Spain, before winning 2-3 against Netherlands. Italy won three of a possible six internationals, as well as playing zero draws and suffering three defeats. They scored ten while also conceding nine times.

Italy should be able to strut their stuff against North Macedonia, but the latter will attempt to keep things tight. They want to avoid getting pummelled in front of their home crowd at Todor Proeski Arena.

North Macedonia vs Italy Team News

North Macedonia will have almost all of their team present for their match against Italy at Todor Proeski Arena, with only one player in doubt.

Sidelined with an injury, North Macedonia can't field Darko Churlinov on Saturday against Italy.

North Macedonia vs Italy H2H

The latest match between North Macedonia and Italy was a tight encounter which saw North Macedonia running away with small 0-1 victory. North Macedonia go into their upcoming match against Italy with a 33% winning record in recent meetings. This gives them a 1-1-1 record in the latest encounters with their next opponent. A record worth keeping in mind before you make a choice for your next accumulator, depending on your betting strategy.

North Macedonia vs Italy Results

The scenario of both teams scoring came out twice in the last three matches between North Macedonia and Italy.

North Macedonia vs Italy Betting Tips

Enis Bardhi has been the most productive European Championship scorer for the home side, having scored three in recent games. North Macedonia no doubt hope he will continue to be a threat in their upcoming match, while Italy will be expecting Mateo Retegui to add to his tally of two European Championship goals in his latest game.

North Macedonia won four of the previous 10 home matches across all tournaments, while drawing one and losing five as well. Italy won five from a possible 10 away from home, as they also drew two and lost three in this run. North Macedonia claimed three modest wins from their previous 10 league outings, whereas Italy managed to win seven times from a possible 10.

Over 2.5 goals happened one time in the past three encounters between North Macedonia and Italy, with North Macedonia scoring 1.33 goals on average per game. Italy averaged 1.33 goals, while both teams scored two times. Over 2.5 goals happened in five of North Macedonia’s last ten matches across all tournaments. They scored an average of 1.1 goals along the way. Over 2.5 goals appeared in five of the last ten matches that Italy played across all tournaments. They scored 1.5 times on average in the process.