Italy vs Macedonia Preview

Italy may seem to have lost the automatic qualification spot to Spain in this group following their 3-0 thumping at the hands of the La Rojas but they can still do the unlikely if they can win their remaining games and other results go their way.

The Italians are clear favourites in this encounter as their visitors have lost 5 of their last 8 qualifying matches and with the arsenal of attackers in the Italian squad it is hard not to see them winning this game.

The Azzurris have already scored 19 goals in group matches with the likes of Ciro Imobile in hot form, they will definitely be adding more goals to their account.

The Macedonians have had some good but inconsistent results this year and they seem to have nothing more to play for.

They beat Liechtenstein and Belarus by the same score line of 3-0 but they could not do same with much stronger opponents as they lost at home 1-2 to Spain before a narrow 0-1 win over Israel and a 1-1 draw at home to Albania.

They will feel they have what it takes to frustrate the Italians in this game and hold them for at least the opening part of the game.

Results of each team’s last 5 matches across all leagues and competitions

Italy

LAST FIVE GAMES						DATE	COMPETITION
W	Italy		1-0		Israel	Sep 5, 2017	World Cup Qualifying –
L	Spain		3-0		Italy	Sep 2, 2017	World Cup Qualifying –
W	Italy		5-0		Liechtenstein	Jun 11, 2017	World Cup Qualifying –
W	Italy		3-0		Uruguay	Jun 7, 2017	International Friendly
W	Italy		8-0		San Marino	May 31, 2017	International Friendly

Macedonia 

LAST FIVE GAMES						DATE	COMPETITION
D	Macedonia		1-1		Albania	Sep 5, 2017	World Cup Qualifying –
W	Israel		0-1		Macedonia	Sep 2, 2017	World Cup Qualifying –
L	Macedonia		1-2		Spain	Jun 11, 2017	World Cup Qualifying –
D	Macedonia		0-0		Turkey	Jun 5, 2017	International Friendly
W	Macedonia		3-0		Belarus	Mar 28, 2017	International Friendly

H2H

DATE	COMPETITION
Macedonia		2-3		Italy	Oct 9, 2016	World Cup Qualifying –