Nations League: North Macedonia v Scotland
Nacionalna Arena Toše Proeski, Skopje
Saturday, 3 October, 19:45 BST
Sebastien Pocognoli is still looking for his first win as Scotland head coach after a goalless draw in Slovenia and Tuesday's bruising 3-0 home defeat by Switzerland.
The Belgian will, however, have high hopes as he takes his side to Skopje considering North Macedonia are the lowest-ranked side in Nations League Group B1 and have already lost to the Swiss and Slovenia.
The 39-year-old had gone into his first, four-game international camp promising to give as many players as possible a chance to impress and on Tuesday made three changes from the opener in Ljubljana.
With Jack Hendry suspended after the centre-half's early red card against the Swiss, at least one change will be enforced against North Macedonia but what other alterations might Pocognoli make and who would you like to feature?
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With Al-Ettifaq's Hendry missing out this time, might Pocognoli be tempted to abandon his preferred three-at-the-back system?
That seems unlikely no matter if he thinks North Macedonia will revert to the two up front they had at home to Switzerland or go with one, as they did in Slovenia.
Pocognoli, one imagines, will be keen to give his system another chance to gel considering it effectively had to be abandoned after 10 minutes with Hendry's early dismissal against the Swiss.
Swansea City's Stephen Welsh, who had started in Slovenia, came on as an early substitute on Tuesday, while Dinamo Zagreb's Scott McKenna has played the full 180 minutes over both games and neither have done their reputations any harm.
Brondy's Luis Binks was handed his debut against the Swiss and he too did not look out of place.
However, Luke Graham has yet to make his Scotland debut so could this be an opportunity to blood Stoke City's 22-year-old summer signing?
Aaron Hickey's injury record means the Brentford 24-year-old is not being risked over two matches in one week but he could return after being rested against the Swiss.
Indeed, there was a clamour among the pundits on BBC Radio Scotland's Sportsound for Hickey to be moved to right central defence, ostensibly to make space for flying winger Ben Gannon-Doak.
More of that later, but that would mean Torino's Nathan Patterson dropping out of the right wing-back spot after a difficult night against the talented Swiss forward line.
On the other side of the park, captain Andy Robertson was replaced with Sassuolo's Josh Doig for the final 15 minutes of Tuesday's lost cause but it is unthinkable that the Tottenham Hotspur man will be handed any more rest in Skopje.
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That brings us on to the aforementioned Gannon-Doak.
The 20-year-old's frustrations at a lack of starting spots with Bournemouth have continued with Scotland under Pocognoli so far, but he helped the side improve their attacking threat as a substitute after the break in Slovenia.
He then showed his willingness to track back and defend in a backs-to-the-wall second half against the Swiss.
With the visit to Skopje being viewed as a must-win for Scotland's outside chances of finishing top ahead of the Swiss, or even second, Gannon-Doak's speed and trickery are being touted as essential to shoe into the starting line-up.
Josh McPake is a similar option on the other wing, but the Heart of Midlothian 25-year-old is likely to have to wait a tad longer for his debut.
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In the continued absence of Scott McTominay, central midfield almost picks itself.
Napoli team-mate Billy Gilmour has been a standout in both games under Pocognoli, while Bologna captain Lewis Ferguson is effective in doing the dirty work in protecting the defence.
If anyone's place is under threat, it could be John McGinn.
While a Scotland mainstay for so many years – and often their biggest goal threat – he has been less influential over the past two games and is perhaps feeling the effects of a heavy schedule at home and in Europe with Aston Villa.
However, there are no standout replacements for that number 10 role, with fellow 31-year-old Ryan Christie having been more effective recently as a defensive midfielder with Bournemouth.
Meanwhile, Udinese 20-year-old Lennon Miller and uncapped Blackburn Rovers 22-year-old Kristi Montgomery have not even featured as substitutes.
Pocognoli could spring a surprise by reverting to the two-winger approach often adopted by predecessor Steve Clarke, which would mean one lone striker, or one withdrawn into a number 10 role.
Oli McBurnie proved effective in that role in the second half against Slovenia but, so far, the Belgian has preferred a two-pronged attack.
McBurnie again impressed against Switzerland before running out of steam in the second half and the Hull City 30-year-old would count himself unlucky not to be handed his third straight start after his recall from the international wilderness.
However, should Pocognoli decide to go with fresh legs, both Sevilla's Robbie Ure and Sassuolo's Kieron Bowie have shown in flashes that they can be a threat at this level.
The latter in particular was unfortunate, having contributed a couple of nice touches before being sacrificed early after Hendry's red card on Tuesday.
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Goalkeeper continues to be Scotland's Achilles heel.
With the legendary Craig Gordon approaching an injury-hit end to his career and now retired, Angus Gunn has taken over as the undisputed number one.
However, despite having more regular club starts since his summer move from Nottingham Forest to San Jose Earthquakes, the 30-year-old has received some criticism for Switzerland's first and third goals on Tuesday.
The alternatives, though, are limited. Scott Bain has only four caps and has had his own high-profile slip-ups amid good form with Falkirk this season, while Liam Kelly remains without club game time as second choice with Rangers.
Could Pocognoli take the risk of a change even though North Macedonia are expected to pose a lesser threat than Slovenia or Switzerland?
What would you do? Tell us what would be your Scotland starting line-up below.
Source: BBC Football
