Bosnia-Herzegovina will be looking to secure first position in League B Group 3 in the UEFA Nations League when they welcome Montenegro on Friday night.
The home side are currently top of the table, one point ahead of second-placed Montenegro, with the visitors needing to avoid defeat to take the race for promotion into the final matchday.
Match preview
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Bosnia won promotion to League A Group 1 following their strong performance in the 2018-19 competition, but they dropped back down to League B for this campaign after struggling to make an impression in 2020-21.
The Dragons are bidding to earn promotion back to League A for the next campaign, and they are in a strong position with two games left, sitting at the top of Group 3, boasting eight points from four matches.
Bosnia opened their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Finland on June 4 before recording a 1-0 victory over Romania three days later.
Ivaylo Petev's side drew 1-1 with Montenegro in their third game in the section before running out 3-2 winners over Finland on June 24, which has left them at the summit ahead of their final two matches against Montenegro and Romania.
Bosnia, who would secure first position in Group 3 with a victory here, did not qualify for the 2022 World Cup, so they will not be in action at the tournament, which is due to get underway in November.
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Montenegro, meanwhile, have picked up seven points from their opening four games of the section courtesy of a record of two victories, one draw and one defeat.
The Brave Falcons recorded a 2-0 win over Romania on June 4 before suffering a 2-0 defeat to Finland in their second game in the section three days later.
Montenegro then played out the 1-1 draw with Bosnia on home soil before recording a 3-0 victory over Romania in their last fixture, which has left them in second spot in the section.
A win on Friday would put them in charge of first position ahead of their final game at home to Finland, and they are in a strong position to avoid relegation back to League C, so even missing out on first spot in the group would not be the end of the world considering they are in League B for the first time.
Miodrag Radulovic's side have never qualified for the finals of a World Cup, and they failed to make an impression during qualification for this year's tournament, finishing fourth in their section.
Team News
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Bosnia will once again be captained by Edin Dzeko, with the 36-year-old preparing to turn out for the national team for the 125th time during an impressive career.
There should also be a spot in the middle of midfield for Miralem Pjanic, while Sanjin Prcic and Sead Kolasinac should also be among those in the starting side for the hosts.
Dzeko has 63 goals for his country, while Pjanic has 18, but the next highest goalscorer in the squad is Smail Prevljak with six, and the former is likely to feature in the final third of the field.
As for Montenegro, Stefan Mugosa is set to lead the line, with the 30-year-old scoring three times in his side's last game with Romania in the middle of June.
Head coach Radulovic could potentially name the same XI that took to the field for the 3-0 success last time out, with Vukan Savicevic likely to feature as the number 10.
Captain Stevan Jovetic is also in the squad and should be involved in some capacity for the visitors.
Bosnia-Herzegovina possible starting lineup:
Sehic; Stevanovic, Civic, Hadzikadunic, Kolasinac; Besic, Prcic, Pjanic; Prevljak, Dzeko, Duljevic
Montenegro possible starting lineup:
Mijatovic; Vesovic, Vujacic, Tomasevic, Radunovic; Jankovic, Scekic; Jovovic, Savicevic, Krstovic; Mugosa
We say: Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-1 Montenegro
This has all of the makings of a very interesting match, with plenty on the line for both sides. It would certainly not be a surprise to see an away victory or a draw, but we just have a feeling that Bosnia will do enough to secure a huge three points in the section.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
