Latvia vs Montenegro – News and Probable Lineups

The Montenegrin squad aims to maintain their flawless start in Nations League C with a win against Latvia on Friday at Stadions Skonto.

On the other hand, the home side has secured merely one point out of a potential six, placing them last in fourth position, while Montenegro, sitting at the top, has recorded maximum points from their initial two fixtures, having overcome Armenia with a score of 3-2 on September 28.

Match overview

Latvia struggled to register a single shot on target in their scoreless draw with Cyprus on Monday, with only two of their attempts within the box originating from open play.

Head coach Paolo Nicolato will likely be concerned as his team has not found the net in any of their last three matches, managing fewer than two goals in each of their past nine encounters.

The recent form of the hosts has been disappointing, with the national team suffering eight losses, five draws, and only two wins in their latest 15 matches.

Latvia’s performance at home has not been significantly better, as they have endured five losses in their past ten home fixtures, winning only once during that span.

In these matches, Nicolato’s players have failed to score in half of those instances while conceding two or more goals in three of those contests.

Montenegro required a late winner from Aleksa Latkovic in the 89th minute to secure all points against Armenia, after having twice fallen behind during that match.

Manager Mirko Vucinic has now guided his team to three victories in their last four matches, remaining unbeaten during that period.

However, they have only managed to keep one clean sheet in these four games, although they have scored on eight occasions.

Montenegro has faced Latvia four times in the past, and they have never lost, claiming victory in two of those encounters.

The Brave Falcons are undefeated in their last four away matches, winning three of those games, showing a significant change in form after suffering nine consecutive defeats on the road prior to this revival.

Team News

Latvia will need to heavily rely on their defensive unit in order to secure a result from Friday’s fixture, necessitating Deniss Melniks, Antonijs Cernomordijs, and Dennis Cirkin to perform at their peak.

It is possible that VladislaxGutkoxis and Roberts Uldrikis may be featured together in the attack, while Eduards Emsis could play a pivotal role in midfield.

The Montenegro duo of Milutin Osmajic and Nikola Krstovic started together last time, and will again be expected to spearhead the attack.

Midfielder Stefan Loncar is set to make his 30th appearance for the national team, alongside Marko Jankovic.

For the defensive line, the likely choices to feature centrally are Andrej Duric and Stefan Savic.

Latvia probable starting XI:

Matrevic; Melnik, Cernomordy, Cirkin; Savalnieks, Zelenkox Emsis, Vapne, Ciganiks; Gutkoxis, Uldrikis

Montenegro probable starting XI:

Popovic; Roganovic, Duric, Savic, Gasevic; Vukovic, Loncar, Jankovic, Bulatovic; Osmajic, Krstovic

With Montenegro in impressive form, they will logically be regarded as favorites, especially given their strong performances away from home.

Latvia has faced challenges in creating scoring opportunities in the final third for some time, and there seems to be little indication that they can pose a significant threat to the visitors.