FYR Macedonia v Spain background

FYR Macedonia are bottom of Group C after losing to Luxembourg on Saturday, so a home encounter with a pace-setting Spain team who gave them a torrid time in their opening Group C fixture is perhaps not ideal.

• Besart Abdurahimi and Stefan Ristovski are both suspended after accumulating three bookings. The following players are a yellow card away from a ban: Vance Sikov, Aleksandar Trajkovski (FYR Macedonia), Diego Costa and David Silva (Spain).

Previous meetings
• Spain kicked off their Group C campaign with a 5-1 victory over FYR Macedonia. The highlights included a goal for Paco Alcácer on his competitive debut and a first strike in 70 Spain appearances for Sergio Busquets.

• FYR Macedonia's record in four games against Spain reads W0 D0 L4, suffering two defeats both home and away. Agim Ibraimi's penalty in the sides' first Group C meeting was their first competitive goal against the Spaniards.

Form guide
• FYR Macedonia have lost their last two Group C home matches following a 3-2 success against Luxembourg in their initial fixture in Skopje.

• Spain's 2-1 loss in Slovakia earlier in their Group C campaign remains the sole defeat in their last 20 qualifying competition away fixtures (W18 D1 L1), dating back to a 2-0 reverse in Sweden on 7 October 2006.

Trivia and links
• FYR Macedonia coach Ljubinko Drulović turns 47 on 11 September, three days after the Spain game.

• FYR Macedonia goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski plays his club football in Spain for Granada CF's B team.

• In the nations' seven meetings in UEFA age-group competitions, Spain's record reads W6 D1 L0. The FYR Macedonia side that held Spain to a 0-0 draw in a UEFA European Under-16 Championship qualifier in Segovia on 4 November 1997 is the only Macedonian team to have avoided defeat against Spanish opposition in any UEFA competition.

• In the only UEFA encounters between the countries' clubs, Celta Vigo beat Pelister 3-0 at home and 2-1 away in the 2000 UEFA Intertoto Cup third round.