The situation in Nations League group four division C ahead of the final round has resulted in all four national teams playing each other on Monday in "high-stakes friendlies". Georgia were the early winners of the quartet here, trailing North Macedonia and Bulgaria by six and seven points respectively, while Gibraltar expectedly dropped out. The countries remaining in Ligue C will play each other in a tournament-insignificant encounter. The bookmakers' betting odds put the home side as the favourites to win, with the odds of at least one away point being offered.

Northern Macedonia shocked the world this year when they knocked Italy out of the World Cup in the play-off semi-finals in March. A few days later, the Macedonians also crashed out themselves after Portugal's efforts, so their joy was short-lived. In the Nations League, Milevski's men won both games against Gibraltar by a scoreline and similarly lost both games against Georgia. Their first encounter with the Bulgarians was in Razgrad in the opening round of the draw. Despite the 1-1 draw, Northern Macedonia enjoyed a head-to-head advantage. The tie was decided against the statistics in favour of the visitors: 15-4 for shots, 5-1 for shots on goal and 5-1 for corner kicks.

Bulgaria, who drew their opponents in the first leg, subsequently drew Gibraltar and then won for the first time in the tournament only on Friday, when they beat the visiting 'midget' country at home. Bulgaria have been disastrously underperforming in away matches, losing the majority of them. It's hard to believe, but the Bulgarians' last away win came in September 2018, when they managed to score two goals from two shots on goal against Slovenia in Ljubljana.

Last round, North Macedonia lost away to the Georgians, outclassing their opponents in every statistical indicator and overall impression of the game. The Bulgarians are weaker than the Macedonians in terms of football, and on home soil, Blagoj Milevski's wards will be a head above their rivals. We'll bet on a Macedonian win.