Scotland and North Macedonia meet for the third time in their UEFA Nations League group on Saturday at the Nacionalna Arena Toše Proeski, with both sides still chasing their first victory of this international window.
Scotland began their Nations League journey with a gritty 0-0 draw in Slovenia, showing resilience but little cutting edge in attack. That was followed by a damaging 3-0 home loss to Switzerland at Hampden, a match that turned against them early when Jack Hendry was sent off. Despite that heavy defeat and a four-game scoring drought across all competitions, there is encouragement in their travel form: they have lost just once in their last seven away fixtures, a stat that bolsters belief ahead of the Skopje test.
Scotland team news
Pocognoli faces a major reshuffle at the back because Hendry must serve a suspension after his red card versus Switzerland. The defensive picture was already thin before the window, with several key players unavailable: Kieran Tierney, Kenny McLean, Scott McTominay, Lawrence Shankland and Che Adams are all out through injury or other absences.
To plug the gap in the centre of defence, either Swansea’s Stephen Welsh or Dinamo Zagreb’s Luis Binks is expected to join Scott McKenna in a back three.
On a positive note, captain Andy Robertson is set to reach a landmark 100 caps, starting at left wing-back as he edges closer to Scotland’s all-time appearance record.
In midfield, Billy Gilmour and Lewis Ferguson are both in contention to start and provide the platform in front of the defence, with Gilmour particularly likely to feature in the absence of McTominay.
Scotland predicted lineup
Possible Scotland starting XI: Gunn; Binks, McKenna, Welsh; Hickey, Gilmour, Ferguson, McGinn, Robertson; Bowie, McBurnie
When will the match kick off?
The match will kick off at 7:45pm BST on Saturday, 3rd October.
How to watch North Macedonia vs Scotland?
The match will be broadcast live on BBC Two and BBC Scotland in the UK.
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