Northern Ireland v Bulgaria Prediction, Tips & Best Bet – Nations League

We have a Northern Ireland v Bulgaria prediction for you plus a breakdown of the betting odds, team news and matchups ahead of their Nations League game.

Northern Ireland played out a 0-0 draw against Belarus in Hungary on Saturday to make it 3 wins, 2 draws and 2 defeats from their 2024 fixtures.

Bulgaria played out a 0-0 draw against Luxembourg at the weekend which made it 5 draws, 2 wins and no defeats in 2024 with their last win being a 1-0 win over Northern Ireland last September.

How To Watch Northern Ireland v Bulgaria

When is Northern Ireland v Bulgaria?

Northern Ireland v Bulgaria will take place on Tuesday at 7.45 pm

TV Channel

Viaplay International YouTube

Where is Northern Ireland v Bulgaria Being Played?

Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland v Bulgaria Odds

Northern Ireland are priced at 3/4 favourites to win at Windsor Park, Bulgaria are 7/2 outsiders, and the draw is 9/4 per the latest odds at BoyleSports.

Handicap Betting

Northern Ireland: -1 @ 12/5

Bulgaria: +1 @ 20/21

Handicap Draw: -1 @ 23/10

Northern Ireland v Bulgaria Preview

Northern Ireland’s Form

Northern Ireland’s most successful manager Michael O’Neill after several seasons away managing Stoke was reappointed to the role in December 2022. In his first nine-year tenure he had a win rate of 36.11%. This time around it is currently at a similar percentage at 35.2% with 6 wins, 2 draws and 9 defeats since his return. It’ll be difficult for him to replicate the results of his first tenure though and qualify for another International Tournament.

For such a small area, they do have some talented players at their disposal with Liverpool defender Conor Bradley (21) who was recently named as captain, Trai Hume (22) who is a regular performer in the Championship for Sunderland, Standard Liege midfielder Issac Price. Young Callum Marshal (19) l who plays for Huddersfield on loan from West Ham could be their ace in the pack though.

Against Belarus they had 61% of possession and 15 shots accumulating an XG of 1.29 to their opponent's 0.35 but with no side finding the breakthrough they had to settle for a point a piece.

Northern Ireland’s Last Five Results

Belarus 0-1 Northern Ireland | October 12th | Win

Bulgaria 1-0 Northern Ireland | September 8th | Loss

Northern Ireland 2-0 Luxembourg | September 5th | Win

Andorra 0-2 Northern Ireland | June 11th | Win

Spain 5-1 Northern Ireland | June 8th | Loss

3 Wins, 2 Losses

Bulgaria’s Form

Bulgaria have been managed by Ilian Iliev who represented the country at the International Level from 1991-2000 playing 31 times and scoring 3 goals since he was appointed on the 1st of November of last year following a 13-year coaching career in their Domestic Leagues. Since being appointed he has yet to manage the team to a loss with 7 draws and 2 wins from his first 9 matches.

For a nation which reached the Round of 16 in the 1986 World Cup and finished 4th in the 1994 World Cup. In recent decades they’ve performed poorly on the international stage, not appearing at a World Cup since their 1998 Group Stage finish and at a European Championship since their 2004 Group Stage finish.

Bulgaria is yet to taste defeat under their new management and will fancy themselves to complete the double over Northern Ireland in this game.

Bulgaria’s Last Five Results

Bulgaria 0-0 Luxembourg | October 12th | Draw

Bulgaria 1-0 Northern Ireland | September 8th | Win

Belarus 0-0 Bulgaria | September 5th | Draw

Slovenia 1-1 Bulgaria | June 8th | Draw

Romania 0-0 Bulgaria | July 4th | Draw

1 Win and 4 Draws

Northern Ireland v Bulgaria Predicted Lineups

Northern Ireland Predicted Starting XI (3-5-2)

GK: Pierce

RCB: Hume, CB: McNair, LCB: Toal

RM: Bradley, RCM: Price, CM Charles, LCM: Saville, LM: Lewis

CF: Bonis, CF: Marshall

Bulgaria Predicted Starting XI (4-2-3-1)

GK: Mitov

RB: Popov, CB: Atanasov, CB: Petkov, LB: Numberger

CM: Kostadinov, CM: Antov

RW: Despodov, AM: Krastev, LW: Kirilov

CF: Kolev

Northern Ireland v Bulgaria Head-To-Head Results & Stats

All-Time Head-To-Head Record

Northern Ireland wins: 2

Bulgaria wins: 6

Draws: 2

Head-To-Head Last Five Results

Bulgaria 1-0 Northern Ireland | Nations League | September 8th, 2024

Bulgaria 2-1 Northern Ireland | World Cup Qualifying | October 12th, 2021

Northern Ireland 0-0 Bulgaria | World Cup Qualifying | March 31st, 2021

Northern Ireland 0-1 Bulgaria | Friendly | February 6th, 2008

Northern Ireland 1-1 Bulgaria | World Cup Qualifying | June 2nd, 2001

Key Players To Watch

Conor Bradley – Northern Ireland

The Castlederg native (21) is arguably Northern Ireland’s most promising talent in decades. Last season was a breakout year for him at club level where he impressed across 23 appearances in all competitions. Bradley is likely to occupy the RWB role in this side and with defensive and attacking numbers in the elite range it will be fascinating to see how his career progresses.

Kiril Despodov – Bulgaria

The Bulgarian Captain (27) is one of the few reliable attacking threats in the squad with 15 goals from his 52 caps for his country; only 6 six other players have scored for Bulgaria in the squad with none having more than 6. The PAOK player has 1 Goal and 5 Assists from 15 Games this season already.

Northern Ireland v Bulgaria Prediction & Best Bet

Prediction: Northern Ireland 1-1 Bulgaria

Northern Ireland could consider themselves a little unlucky not to have found a breakthrough against Belarus in their recent 0-0 draw. However, a win in this game would put them ahead of Bulgaria at a minimum into 2nd place and in the promotion playoff picture.

Belarus currently lead the way in the group with 5 points provided they avoid defeat here they will remain in the top-two promotion places.

Northern Ireland does have a home advantage, but Bulgaria doesn’t lose games and are tough to beat so the draw could be a great bet here.

Best Bet: Draw @ 9/4

*Prices are subject to fluctuation.

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