Iceland vs Bulgaria - prediction, team news, lineups

Hoping to continue their strong start to their UEFA Nations League campaign, Iceland will welcome Group C4 rivals Bulgaria to Laugardalsvollur on Saturday.

Strakarnir okkar are looking to build on their win last time out, while the Lions are managerless after struggling in the competition so far.

Iceland suffered back-to-back relegations in the past two iterations of the Nations League, but seem to have found their feet in League C under Arnar Gunnlaugsson.

Strakarnir okkar arrived for this autumn's fixtures with four defeats and two draws from their prior six outings, and fans would have been forgiven for doubting the team's chances, despite the lower level of opposition.

However, Gunnlaugsson's side collected a point in a 1-1 draw against Estonia on September 16, before thoroughly beating Luxembourg 3-0 three days later.

That triumph ended Iceland's seven-game winless run - which stretched all the way back to November 2025's 2-0 victory over Azerbaijan in World Cup qualifying - and has put the team at the top of Group C4.

Heading into Saturday's showdown undefeated in the 2026-27 Nations League will give Strakarnir okkar a sense of optimism, not to mention the hosts have only lost one of their last four home clashes, a spell that includes a 2-2 draw with France in October 2025.

Meanwhile, Bulgaria are without a permanent manager after Aleksandar Dimitrov resigned from his post earlier this week.

The Lions were held to a 0-0 stalemate by Estonia on Tuesday, a frustrating result after which the former boss announced his departure, citing the dire showing as the reason why.

"It was a very chaotic performance on our part; our game plan wasn't executed, and the high press didn't materialise," said Dimitrov, who recorded five losses, two draws and three wins during his 12 months in charge.

Atanas Ribarski will be taking the reins on an interim basis until a new head coach can be found, but he will be hard-pressed to reverse Bulgaria's fortunes, considering they are sat at the bottom of the group with a single point to their name.

Saturday's contest will be the Lions' first away fixture in this term's Nations League, given they lost their opener 2-1 to Luxembourg, but the more positive amongst the travelling support may take heart from the fact the visitors carry a three-game unbeaten run on the road (two wins, one draw) into this clash.

Iceland are likely to be without the versatile Stefan Thordarson, whose place in the squad is in doubt after he picked up a muscle issue against Luxembourg on Tuesday.

In his absence, Hordur Magnusson should be on hand to start alongside Daniel Gretarsson at the heart of the hosts' defence, flanked by full-backs Victor Palsson and Logi Tomasson.

Elsewhere, there are questions about the fitness of left winger Albert Gudmundsson due to a shoulder problem, so expect to see Mikael Ellertsson and Hakon Arnar Haraldsson operate out wide, supporting the strike partnership of Orri Oskarsson and Andri Gudjohnsen up top.

As for Bulgaria, they could line up with Elversberg star Lukas Petkov leading the attack, aided by wingers Zdravko Dimitrov and Marin Petkov.

At the opposite end of the pitch, Daniel Naumov will start between the sticks, shielded by a centre-back pairing of Kristian Dimitrov and Stefan Velkov.

Valdimarsson; Palsson, Magnusson, Gretarsson, Tomasson; Ellertsson, Johannesson, Sigurdsson, Haraldsson; Gudjohnsen, Oskarsson

Naumov; Turitsov, K Dimitrov, Velkov, Velkovski; Tsonev, Gruev, Stoyanov; M Petkov, L Petkov, Z Dimitrov

Iceland will be confident after enjoying a successful beginning to their Nations League campaign, and should be able to get the better of a struggling Bulgaria on home turf.

That being said, the visitors will be desperate to deliver a strong showing after Dimitrov's resignation, so expect to see a close-fought clash regardless of the result.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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