Montenegro – Bulgaria

Fans will see at least two goals at the match in Podgorica

Before the start of the UEFA EURO 2024 qualifying tournament in Group G, Hungary and Serbia were considered clear favourites. Montenegro was the third favourite for two places in the main stage of the continental championship. The events in the first round of qualification unfolded roughly according to this scenario. Before the fifth match, the Hungarians and Serbs are in the top positions, while the Montenegrins are between them and a pair of outsiders in Lithuania and Bulgaria. On the other hand, nothing is lost for the hosts in Podgorica and they can climb to the second position at the end of the upcoming round. The first meeting between Bulgaria and Montenegro took place in Razgrad in March this year. The guests had an advantage throughout the match, which translated into Krstovic's winning goal in the 70th minute. In the upcoming encounter, the hosts are once again offered by bookmakers as favourites with odds of 1.75 to win. Montenegro had little chance of winning a World Cup berth in 2021. During the qualifying tournament, the maximum that this team could do was a couple of unexpected results - 2-2 draws with the Netherlands and Turkey. In 2022, in one of the most equal groups of League B of the Nations League together with Romania, Finland, Bosnia and Herzegovina Montenegrins retained the right of residence in the second division of the Nations League, with a difficult third place. In the current qualification for the UEFA EURO, apart from the victory over the Bulgarians, the Montenegrin team picked up one point each in the meetings with Lithuania and Hungary. The Bulgarian team finished fourth in the group, ahead of only Lithuania out of four competitors. Last year the Bulgarian team participated in the League of Nations League C, being in the same company with Georgia, North Macedonia and Gibraltar. Despite finishing with two wins, the Bulgarians could not come close to the group winner Georgia. In the current qualifying tournament Bulgaria lost to Hungary and Montenegro, but managed to pick up one point each against Lithuania and Serbia. The visitors have nothing to lose in Podgorica, which is unlikely to result in a very low-total game.