Albania vs Macedonia Predictions & Betting Tips, Match Previews

Albania made history in the summer as they qualified for their first ever major tournament finals. They finished qualification in 2nd position with a modest total of 14 points from their eight games, beating Denmark, Serbia and Armenia to the automatic qualification positions.

This set them up for a trio of group stage games against hosts France, Romania and Switzerland in Euro 2016. They narrowly lost to Switzerland in their group opener before succumbing to late France pressure and losing 2-0 to them, although the scoreline looks a lot more comfortable than it actually was. However, in their final group game they managed to get their first ever tournament win as they beat Romania 1-0. It marked the end of their tournament, but that is a win that will go down in history for Albania.

Making it to the World Cup in Russia in two years time will be a much tougher task for them though. They have been drawn in a group that includes both Italy and Spain, and with only one automatic qualification spot and one possible playoff spot, it’s unlikely that they can make history again. They will just be hoping to outdo Macedonia, Israel and Liechtenstein to finish 3rd really.

Macedonia took up their usual residence at the bottom of their qualifying group last year as they picked up just four points in their ten group games. This saw them finish behind Luxembourg on head to head results and seven points adrift of Belarus in 4th.

Their following friendlies haven’t been much more successful either. They have lost four of their six games since the end of qualifying, taking their total record to eight defeats, one draw, and two wins in their last 11 outings.

Albania’s success in Euro 2016 qualifying was built on a strong defence. They only saw 15 goals in their eight games in total and have seen fewer than three goals in 11 of their last 16 home games. Macedonia have only seen more than two goals in two of their last nine on the road as well, and they’ve failed to score in seven of them as well.

I think Albania will be able to get the win on Monday, but it’s not expected to be a high scoring one. Odds of 15/8 for an Albania Win and Under 2.5 Goals look excellent value, so I’m backing that along with a 1-0 correct score prediction at 7/2.