Northern Ireland has been delivering their best performances at home, where they’re nearly unbeatable with four consecutive wins and a goal difference of 11:0. Their attack and defense have both been exceptional.

Today, however, they face perhaps their main rival for the top spot: Belarus. Belarus has shown they can achieve positive results against stronger teams in Group C.

They remain unbeaten in their last four matches, though with only one win and three draws; that win came in a 1-0 away game against Luxembourg.

In their last head-to-head encounter, the match ended 0-0, but Northern Ireland was clearly the stronger side in every statistical category. They dominated possession, created the majority of chances with an xG of 1.15, and had seven shots on target but were ultimately unlucky not to score and secure the win.