Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the Nations League match.
In this League C group, nothing is settled yet. Even the last-placed Luxembourg, with two points, could finish top, so the clash between Northern Ireland and Belarus, separated by just one point, is pivotal. Northern Ireland aim to maintain their lead, while Belarus look to overtake.
Northern Ireland
Matches in this quartet have generally been low-scoring affairs, under the total under 2.5 goals. Yet, Northern Ireland stunned everyone with a 5:0 thrashing of Bulgaria, a team that had not conceded in their previous three matches and stood higher in the table. This emphatic victory was aided by poor performances from Bulgaria's goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov, who failed to stop any on-target shot, an own goal, and the inspired play of Isaac Price. The 21-year-old winger completed a hat-trick in 66 minutes, despite not scoring in 15 matches for Standard.
Belarus
Belarus haven't shown such scoring prowess. In the Nations League, they either play out 0:0 draws or score a maximum of one goal. This has been sufficient for six points so far. They played to a goalless draw with Northern Ireland previously. Conceding many goals is possible against teams of higher level, as seen in friendlies against Israel and Russia, both ending 0:4. However, in this Nations League, Belarus have conceded only one goal in four matches and haven’t scored more than one goal in their last ten games.
Northern Ireland vs Belarus Prediction
A repeat of the Northern Ireland and Bulgaria match is highly unlikely. The most this pair can manage is a combined total of three goals: their two Euro 2020 qualifying encounters ended 1:0 and 2:1 in favour of Northern Ireland. The hosts should win again this time.
