Kosovo will host Iceland at the Stadiumi Fadil Vokrri on Thursday evening in the first of their two-legged matchup in the UEFA Nations League promotion/relegation playoffs.
The hosts will be competing for a place in League B after finishing second in their group, while Iceland are battling to avoid relegation to League C after placing third in their group.
Match preview
© Imago
Kosovo had a largely impressive Nations League campaign, finishing second in a League C Group 2 that featured Romania, Cyprus and Lithuania, earning them a chance to compete for promotion to League B.
The Dardanians won four and lost two of their six fixtures, both 3-0 losses against Romania, meaning they placed second in the table with 12 points - six behind Romania and six above third-placed Cyprus.
That leaves Kosovo with four wins and only one defeat from their last five fixtures heading into this matchup, a marked improvement on the one victory and three losses that manager Franco Foda recorded in his initial four games in charge.
While the winning streak will give Kosovo confidence heading into the clash with Iceland, the Dardanians have struggled in this fixture, losing each of the last two encounters.
Iceland, however, are in extremely patchy form coming into the game, with three wins, four losses and one draw from their last nine outings across all competitions.
Those results included two wins, one draw and three defeats in League B Group 4 in the Nations League, leaving Iceland to finish third in the table with seven points - four behind second-placed Turkey and four above bottom-placed Montenegro.
New head coach, Arnar Gunnlaugsson, will be looking to make an immediate improvement with Iceland in the upcoming two clashes with Kosovo, hoping to keep their League B status in the Nations League.
Iceland have faced particular difficulties away from home in recent times, though, suffering four defeats from their last six matches on the road, alongside two victories.
Team News
Foda's squad list includes the regular starters of Amir Rrahmani, Valon Berisha, Milot Rashica, Edon Zhegrova and Vedat Muriqi, and all five are likely to start here.
Arijanet Muric may have fallen out of favour at Ipswich Town in recent months, but the goalkeeper is expected to start for Kosovo, especially after a star performance for his nation in their last match.
As for Iceland, Orri Steinn Oskarsson has been named the new captain of the national team despite being just 20-years-old, and the striker is likely to start in this one.
Hakon Arnar Haraldsson has been named the vice-captain, and in the absence of Gylfi Sigurdsson, the 21-year-old attacking midfielder will play behind Oskarsson on Thursday.
Kosovo possible starting lineup:
Muric; Hadergjonaj, Rrahmani, Dellova, Rrudhani, Emerllahu, Berisha; Zhegrova, Rashica, Krasniqi; Muriqi
Iceland possible starting lineup:
Valdimarsson; Lunddal, Ingason, Palsson, Tomasson; Johannesson, Traustason, Willumsson, Porsteinsson; Haraldsson, Oskarsson
We say: Kosovo 1-2 Iceland
While Kosovo are in significantly better form than Iceland, the visitors have won each of the last two meetings between the two teams, and we expect another victory for the visitors in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
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