Belarus and Romania square off on Thursday evening with the two teams looking to boost their hopes of qualifying for Euro 2024.
While Belarus realistically require a win to retain any faint hopes, Romania occupy the second automatic qualification spot in Group I with four matches remaining.
Match preview
Having only competed in three major tournaments since the turn of the Millennium, Romanian supporters are longing for a tournament where they can get excited.
Their appearances at Euro 2008 and 2016 featured group-stage exits without a single win being posted, but there are signs that they are slowly turning a corner.
Edward Iordanescu's side have suffered just one defeat in their last 10 matches in all competitions, including a six-game unbeaten streak in Group I.
Twelve points have been accumulated from that run, with Romania conceding just four times, and they sit only two points adrift of group leaders Switzerland.
With Israel and Switzerland to come in November, the onus is on Iordanescu's side to deliver maximum points from their encounters with Belarus and Andorra.
From Belarus' perspective, there have been times when they have threatened to collect many more points than the four that they have accumulated.
Three of their four defeats - to Romania and twice against Israel - have come by one-goal margins, and they have a victory over Kosovo to their name.
Nevertheless, being held to a goalless draw by Andorra was one of the worst results in their recent history, their September fixtures being completed by conceding a last-gasp goal to lose to Israel by a 1-0 scoreline.
Carlos Alos will hope that another period working with his squad will aid their development, yet they are effectively playing for pride despite 12 points still being up for grabs.
Fourth position remains a notable target, though, and achieving a result against Romania or Switzerland will set them up ahead of notable encounters with Kosovo and Andorra in November.
Team News
Having almost held Israel to a goalless draw, Alos may opt to retain the same Belarus XI from that fixture.
Much will depend on if he wishes to stick with a 5-4-1 formation, with Ivan Bakhar and Pavel Savitskiy the most likely to come into the team if Alos decides that he wants more width.
Vitaly Lisakovich, one of the squad's star men, will also feel that he is in contention to be drafted back into the side.
Iordanescu will be forced into making one change to his Romania starting lineup courtesy of George Puscas serving a one-match ban.
Denis Alibec appears most likely to lead the attack, while Valentin Mihaila is pushing for a start on the left flank after scoring as a substitute against Kosovo.
Belarus possible starting lineup:
Plotnikov; Karpovich, Politevich, Polyakov, Volkov, Pechenin; Korzun, Kaplenko, Bocherov; Kontsevoy; Morozov
Romania possible starting lineup:
Moldovan; Ratiu, Dragusin, Burca, Bancu; Stanciu, Screciu, Cicaldau; Hagi, Alibec, Coman
We say: Belarus 1-2 Romania
With these two teams having already played out a closely-fought encounter, we can only expect much of the same, particularly at a neutral venue. Nevertheless, Romania are yet to lose in this group and that should continue here, potentially with another 2-1 win over this opposition.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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