Sports Mole preview Tuesday’s Nations League clash between Romania and Montenegro, including predictions, team news and possible line-ups.
Romania will bid to make it back-to-back wins in the UEFA Nations League as they continue their 2022-23 campaign at home Montenegro at Tuesday evening.
The hosts are currently bottom of Group 3 of League B and have three points from their three games, while Montenegro are third with four points from their first three games.
game preview
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Romania opened their Group 3 campaign on 4 June with a 2-0 defeat by Montenegro before suffering a 1-0 defeat in Bosnia-Herzegovina three days later, finishing bottom after two games.
Edward JordanescuThe side of are still bottom of the table but will go into this game after beating Finland 1-0 on Saturday Nikusor Bancu Registration in the 30th minute of the competition.
Unsurprisingly, Romania failed to qualify for the finals of the 2022 World Cup as their last participation in the competition was in 1998 when they reached the round of 16.
The Tricolors were also absent from Euro 2020, while in their previous season they finished third in Group 1 of League B in the UEFA Nations League, taking eight points from six games.
Romania’s win over Finland was their first success in a competition since last November and they will look to win back-to-back for the first time since last September.
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Montenegro, on the other hand, go into this game after a 1-1 draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Saturday Adam Marusic scored a net in the 77th minute to earn his side a point on home soil.
The Brave Falcons started their UEFA Nations League season with a 2-0 defeat of Romania on 4 June before suffering a 2-0 away defeat by Finland three days later.
With a total of four points from three games, they are third in the group, just one point behind leaders Bosnia-Herzegovina, so they have their sights set on top of the group and promotion to League A.
Montenegro finished fourth in their World Cup qualifiers, missing out on the 2022 competition, while also missing out on last summer’s European Championships.
Miodrag RadulovicThe side of have secured promotion to League B by finishing first in Group 1 of League C in the 2020-21 competition, taking 13 points from six games in an impressive season.
Form of the Romanian Nations League:
Romania form (all competitions):
Form of Montenegro Nations League:
Montenegro form (all competitions):
Team News
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Romania has to do a late check-in Octavian Popescuwho came on as a substitute early in the second half against Finland on Saturday would come as no surprise Razvan Marin come in first
However, head coach Iordanescu should resist the temptation to reorganize his pack George Puscas seeded again to lead the line for the home team.
Puscas is the top scorer in the squad with eight goalscorers Alexander Maxim has seven in 56 caps and the 31-year-old is expected to start as he did not feature against Finland.
As for Montenegro, head coach Radulovic has not announced any new injury concerns after Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Marusic, who was on the home side’s top scorer list, should play on the right flank again Stephen Mugosa Operating in either of the two positions through the center.
Sead Haksabanovic shown in an advanced area against Bosnia-Herzegovina and that could be the case here again while Milan Mijatovic should get the nod between the sticks.
Romania possible starting line-up:
Nita; Ratiu, Chiriches, Burca, Bancu; Olaru, Marin; Sorescu, Maxim, Marin; puskas
Montenegro possible starting line-up:
Mijatovic; Vesovic, Vujacic, Tomasevic, Vukcevic; Marusic, Raickovic, Jankovic, Jovovic; Mugosa, Haksabanovic
We say: Romania 0-0 Montenegro
Montenegro recorded a 2-0 win when the two teams met on June 4, but we expect this match to be much closer. Both managers will be wary of losing the game which could result in a close game and we forecast a goalless draw on Tuesday night.
For a data analysis of the most likely outcomes, goal scores and more for this game, please click here.
top tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com predict under 3.5 goals in this game. Click here to find out what else they predict for this game and for more of their tried and true football tips.Under 3.5:Data