Bosnia-Montenegro is a match valid for the fifth day of the Nations League and is scheduled for Friday at 20:45
BOSNIA – MONTENEGRO
First place and promotion to League A, in League C Group 3, looks set to be a bargain between them. Barring unlikely sorties by Romania and Finland, who are currently focused on the fight not to be relegated, it is Bosnia and Montenegro who are most likely to go upstairs and challenge the continent’s strongest and most titled selections. And it goes without saying that in the direct clash in Zenica, two days before the end of the group stage, there is something more than three points at stake. At the top of the standings are Dzeko and his teammates, the only ones still unbeaten. Bosnia, led by Bulgarian coach Ivaylo Petev, have not missed a beat in front of their home crowd so far: last June they beat Romania 1-0, and within a few days they had also beaten the Finns (2-1).
Both away matches ended in draws: 1-1 in both Finland and Montenegro. Miodrag Radulovic’s men’s path was almost identical: the minus point in the standings was the result of the defeat in Helsinki against the Scandinavians. Bosnia would therefore be sure to return to League A – from which they were relegated in the last Nations League – in the event of a victory: they would rise to 11 points and become unreachable. But even a draw could go well, provided they get a full result in Romania on Monday. In a less favourable position is Montenegro, who are forced to win to be masters of their own destiny.
Petev will be able to count on his most representative players, Dzeko and Pjanic, while Radulovic will have to do without Jovetic and Savic and will rely on Vissel Kobe striker Stefan Mugosa, who scored a hat-trick against the Romanians in the last match.
The Prediction
Interesting match between two national teams that are essentially equal. The bookmakers are leaning towards Bosnia, but in our opinion it’s not easy to pick a clear favourite: the hosts are slightly ahead, but don’t underestimate the Montenegrins, who are behind in the standings and therefore need to take risks to overtake their “cousins”. We could see an entertaining match, especially in the second half, with both teams scoring on at least one occasion.
Bosnia-Montenegro
- BOSNIA (4-3-3): Sehic; Stevanovic, Civic, Hadzikadunic, Kolasinac; Besic, Prcic, Pjanic; Prevljak, Dzeko, Duljevic.
- MONTENEGRO (4-2-3-1): Mijatovic; Vesovic, Vujacic, Tomasevic, Radunovic; Jankovic, Scekic; Jovovic, Savicevic, Krstovic; Mugosa.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-1
