North Macedonia vs Slovenia Prediction & Betting Tips (16 November)

North Macedonia vs Slovenia closes out the 2026/2027 UEFA Nations League league phase in League B Group B1 on Monday 16 November 2026, with kick-off at 20:45 CET under the lights of the National Arena Todor Proeski in Skopje. For the hosts it has been a campaign to forget: four matches played, four defeats, zero goals scored and ten conceded, leaving Goce Sedloski's Lynxes bottom of the section and on the brink of relegation to League C. The most recent damage came in Lucerne on 6 October, where group leaders Switzerland made it 12 points from a possible 12 with a ruthless Switzerland 3-0 North Macedonia success — the visitors failed to register a single shot on target all evening, a statistic that perfectly summarises their attacking struggles this autumn. Three days earlier Skopje had already witnessed another painful setback, as Scotland claimed their first win of the group through Kieron Bowie's early strike and a John McGinn penalty in a North Macedonia 0-2 Scotland defeat, a night made famous north of the border by Andy Robertson's 100th cap. Sedloski, who replaced Blagoja Milevski in December 2025, is still searching for his first victory in charge, and with two matches left — a trip to Hampden on 13 November before this home finale — the former defender needs his side to show at least some pride in the shirt. The atmosphere in the stands is likely to be tense rather than hostile, but the players owe their supporters a performance after a September and October window in which they were outclassed by Switzerland twice, beaten at home by the Scots and shut out in Ljubljana.

Slovenia arrive in Skopje in a far healthier position but with plenty still on the line. Boštjan Cesar, the national team's record appearance holder who took over from Matjaž Kek in January 2026, has guided the Falcons to second place in Group B1 with seven points from four games, and the runners-up spot brings a promotion play-off chance that will matter enormously for a nation that failed to win a single World Cup qualifier last year. Their campaign began with a 0-0 home draw against Scotland, and October brought a painful 2-1 defeat in Switzerland despite Žan Vipotnik scoring inside two minutes, followed by a statement comeback win at Hampden Park where Ryan Christie's opener was cancelled out by second-half goals from Aljoša Matko and Danijel Šturm in a Scotland 1-2 Slovenia victory that "pulled clear of Scotland in Group B1", as UEFA's highlights put it. Sandwiched between those was the first meeting with Monday's hosts this season, a controlled Slovenia 2-0 North Macedonia win at Stožice, sealed by Sandi Lovrić's 55th-minute header and Matko's late second. Historically the rivalry is finely balanced — the sides drew 1-1 in Ljubljana and saw North Macedonia win 2-1 in Skopje during Euro 2020 qualifying — but the current trajectories could hardly be more different. Slovenia's schedule is brutal, however: they host already-promoted Switzerland in Maribor on Friday 13 November, and if Scotland beat North Macedonia at Hampden the same evening, second place would be decided in Skopje with Slovenia travelling on three days' rest.

Both coaches have named their squads for the November window, and the team news tilts the scales further in interesting directions. For North Macedonia, Sedloski announced a 26-man group headlined by captain Enis Bardhi and Eljif Elmas, with Darko Churlinov returning after missing the previous four matches because of a visa issue in Poland and Shkëndija striker Marko Gjorgjievski in line for a senior debut. Nikola Serafimov, Stefan Despotovski, Imran Fetai and veteran Boban Nikolov also return, but the big story is who is missing: Girona forward Bojan Miovski was left out after Sedloski publicly stated he does not play for his club Rangers, while Gjoko Zajkov, Tihomir Kostadinov, Andrej Stojchevski, Sabahudin Alomerovikj and Gjorge Djekov all dropped out of the previous list. Around the spine of Stole Dimitrievski in goal, Visar Musliu and Serafimov at the back, and the Bardhi-Elmas axis, expect youngsters such as Matej Gashtarov, Anes Meljichi, Mario Mladenovski and the Colombia-born Sebastián Herrera to get minutes as the rebuild continues. Slovenia's group, announced by Cesar at the start of the month, is captained as ever by Jan Oblak, with Žan Karničnik, Jaka Bijol, David Brekalo, Erik Janza, Vanja Drkušić and David Zec forming a deep defensive unit and Atalanta's 20-year-old Relja Obrić earning a first senior call-up; Timi Elsnik, Sandi Lovrić, Adam Gnezda Čerin and Mark Zabukovnik run the midfield, with Vipotnik, Matko, Šturm, Žan Celar and Andraž Šporar the attacking options. The decisive absence is Benjamin Šeško, injured and unavailable for the whole window — removing the one genuine world-class finisher either side possesses.

Our prediction is a 0:0 draw, and the case rests on a simple collision of realities: North Macedonia have not scored in 390 minutes of Nations League football and face the group's most organised defence outside Switzerland, while Slovenia arrive without Šeško and on short rest after Friday's demanding date with the Swiss in Maribor, with little incentive to force the tempo in a dead-rubber for the hosts. Cesar's side has kept things tight all campaign — three goals conceded in four games, two clean sheets — and Oblak behind Bijol and Brekalo rarely concedes soft chances; Sedloski, meanwhile, has every motivation to park the bus, avoid a fifth straight defeat and finally give the home crowd something to shout about at the other end of a miserable group. A low-event stalemate in cold November Skopje is the most probable outcome, with the draw also serving Slovenia fine if Scotland fail to beat Switzerland's neighbours... rather, if Scotland slip up at Hampden. In European odds, we rate the draw at 3.25 as the value main pick, with Slovenia win at 2.10 and a North Macedonia home win at 3.50. Goals markets point the same way: Under 2.5 at 1.65 is our best bet, Both Teams to Score — No at 1.70 looks strong given the hosts' blank run, the half-time draw at 2.05 fits a cagey opening, and the correct score 0-0 is priced at 8.00. Consider small stakes on Matko or Vipotnik to break the deadlock late at around 2.60 and 2.80 respectively if a goal must be chased, but the anchor of any slip is clear: nothing doing in Skopje, 0-0 at the final whis