Northern Ireland vs Bulgaria Prediction & Betting Tips - World Cup

Prediction published on 29/03/2021, 10:19  by Daniel Ngulu | Modified on 29/03/2021 at 11:21 in World Cup Prediction

Two of the three teams in Group C yet to record a point face off on Match Day 3 of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers – Northern Ireland hosts Bulgaria with both hoping to stop their respective losing runs. Northern Ireland are coming from a 2-1 loss to USA in a friendly match, which came right after their 2-0 loss to Italy in the opening Group C game. For the hosts, it hasn’t been a productive run in recent times, with the team being winless in the last seven matches. They did beat Bosnia on post match penalties in October but they have no outright win in the last 12 matches and defensively they’ve struggled too, conceding twice in four of the last five. Northern Ireland have no clean sheet in their last 11 matches while they have just one in 15. Not much comfort has come from home either, with the hosts going to this game without a win in seven home games, and just one clean sheet, but they’ve scored in four of their last six home games. Northern Ireland have no win in their last five World Cup qualification matches; they’ve lost four and have no goal in four of the five matches. They have conceded seven goals in the five qualification matches and scored just one.

Bulgaria, on the other hand, take to this game a four-match winless run but unlike Northern Ireland, they have a win in the last five. They will be hoping their good run over Northern Ireland comes to play 14 years after they last met. Bulgaria have three straight wins over Northern Ireland and coming from a 2-0 loss to Italy, they should be able to look at this as a winnable game. They earlier lost 3-1 to Switzerland and go to this game winless in four, with three losses, and having finished bottom of their group in the Nations League, they’ll hope that isn’t replicated in their run here. To cushion themselves, Bulgaria has to win such games as this but with just one win and eight losses in the last 11, even their hosts will look at this as a game they should win. Bulgaria have two wins only in the last 24 matches while they have no win in the last 10 away games, losing six. They haven’t score in any of their last four away matches and are winless in their last five World Cup qualification matches. In 18 away matches in the qualifiers, Bulgaria have managed just one win – against Malta.