North Macedonia vs Wales Prediction: Dragons could be in for a shock

North Macedonia welcome Wales to Tose Proeski Arena on Tuesday (19:45, BBC Wales) for a Fifa World Cup qualifier. Both teams kicked off their campaigns with a win on Saturday, the hosts cruising past Lichtenstein 3-0. while Wales defeated Kazakhstan 3-1.

The two sides, along with Belgium, are the most likely candidates to finish in the top two of Group J so this game is massive in the grand scheme of things, despite this fixture coming in the infancy of these qualifiers.

North Macedonia vs Wales Odds

North Macedonia have won their last six matches across all competitions and they are 2/1, which has an implied probability of 33.3%, to prevail on Tuesday.

Wales have drawn three of their previous seven fixtures in all competitions and the stalemate is on offer at the same price of 2/1. The Dragons are 13/10 to come away with the three points, which they have managed in three of their previous four outings.

Over 2.5 goals has struck in the visitors' last two matches, while it also delivered in North Macedonia's latest appearance. It can be backed at 6/5 on this occasion.

Football Odds

Team News

North Macedonia boss Blagoja Milevski named a 27-man squad for this month's camp, of which Luka Stankovski was the only fresh call-up. He was on the bench at the weekend as a familiar XI took to the field in Vaduz, and we could be set for a similar lineup again.

Captain Enis Bardhi shall run the engine room while Torino's Eljif Elmas is going to provide a creative nous in the final third.

The striker partnership of Girona's Bojan Miovski and Aleksandar Trajkovski is expected to remain intact, and both will be in fine spirits after scoring against Lichtenstein last time out.

The Dragons are having to cope with several absences ahead of their trip to Skopje, including skipper Aaron Ramsey, who is out for the rest of the domestic season with a hamstring issue. He has been plagued with injuries since rejoining Cardiff City and it feels like it is only a matter of time before the curtain comes down on his career.

Harry Wilson, who has dabbled in the goals of late for his country, Wes Burns, Ethan Ampadu and Rhys Norrington-Davies are also sidelined for Wales. Craig Bellamy named a front four of Sorba Thomas, David Brooks, Dan James and Brennan Johnson to face Kazakhstan on Saturday.

Following the victory he could be tempted to leave the attacking quartet as it is. The likes of Mark Harris and Rabbi Matondo, with the latter scoring from the bench in the previous game, will be pushing for more minutes on Tuesday.

North Macedonia or draw and both teams to score @ 13/8

North Macedonia are in good form of late and while their triumphs have not come against some notable opponents, you still have to admire their consistency. They have been building momentum and it has led to them getting a good start in Group J.

Of course, Wales are going to provide them with a tougher test, and one which they will relish as to really test themselves, and the same goes for when they face Belgium.

Being on home soil, I'm confident that North Macedonia can get a result from this game. The draw seems more feasible because even with injuries, Wales still have some talented attacking players but so do the hosts.

Miovski may not be scoring as much as he would like for Girona after joining the Spanish club in the summer, but let's not forget how prolific he was at Aberdeen, where he caught the eye of many clubs across Europe.

He's already up and running in this qualifying campaign and he also came out with an assist at the weekend. He looks set to play another starring role for the Lynxes here and has the quality to help his team to another result.

I think both teams to score is worth adding to this selection because it has been a successful bet in Wales' past two appearances.

Price Boost - Bojan Miovski, Brennan Johnson and Dan James all 1+ shots on target each @ 4/1 3/1

Miovski features in the second selection which is one of the three Price Boosts on offer. It is for him and Wales duo Johnson and James to have a shot on target each.

Like Miovski, James was on the scoresheet on Saturday, and the winger has been having a strong season with Leeds United in the Championship. His raw speed allows him to get into excellent shooting positions, and he could be a menace for North Macedonia's back line on Tuesday.

Johnson was tasked with leading the line against Kazakhstan and he didn't deliver a glittering performance, which garnered some criticism. The Tottenham Hotspur man will be determined to have a bigger impact this time around, and I think we could see him impose himself more in the final third.

He's no stranger to goals this season as he has 13 in all competitions for Spurs, so he is more than capable of providing the goods on the international stage.

Offers

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