World Cup and International Friendly Matches
World Cup Play Offs
Ireland are at home to former World Champions France and there has to be a good chance of them gaining a first leg advantage at Croke Park. France finished second in a group that was short of quality and there has to be doubts over their capability to beat a team like Ireland. France lost away in the group stages to Austria and could only manage a draw with Romania who are both inferior to Ireland ,so the price of 11/8 (Ladbrokes) looks extremely skinny to us.
Ireland ran Italy close in their group and have been playing well. With a partisan home crowd cheering them on a win 21/10 (Coral) looks very likely and at a decent price too.
We’re taking a home win and we’re going for a 2-1 scoreline 12/1 (Skybet). Robbie Keane 6/1 (Paddypower) to be first goalscorer looks a bit of value.
Portugal will be without Ronaldo for their match against Bosnia and they will miss him. Having struggled to score goals against the better teams in qualifying we’re going for an under 2.5 goals bet at Evens (Bet365). Bosnia have performed well at youth levels over the last few years and are now reaping the benefits with young players performing well in the team. They will be no easy touch and a draw 10/3 (Coral) might be within their capabilities.
We’re going to go for a home win 1/2 (Bet365) although we think it will be a narrow one. A 1-0 result 11/2 (Paddypower).
Greece are a good side at home and they should manage to beat Ukraine and take an advantage into the second match.
We’re predicting a home win 5/4 (Paddypower) and thin a small bet on a 2-0 correct score 9/1 (Bet365) might be profitable. Theofanis Gekas 6/1 (Ladbrokes) is our first goalscorer pick.
International Friendly Matches
England have chosen tough opponents in the shape of Brazil and while the current team may not quite be as free flowing, and skilful as in the past, they are still formidable opponents with enough flair to trouble England. At 6/5 (Coral) Brazil are attractively priced and while our heart says the 9/4 (Coral) for England is the bet to get on our head says a win will be beyond them.
A draw might be worth chancing at 5/2 (Skybet), but we think this will be a home win. Taking both teams to score 10/11 (Ladbrokes) should bring some winnings.
We’re predicting a home win with a 2-1 scoreline 17/2 (Skybet). Fabiano 11/2 (Paddypower) is our first goalscorer selection.
Both Wales and Scotland had disappointing qualifying campaigns and both teams will be looking to rebuild for the European Championship group matches next year. It’s hard to know what to expect from Wales as they have put in some good performances interspersed with some shockers.
Scotland have looked disjointed in some matches under George Burley and they will have to show vast improvement before they start competitive action again.
We’re taking Wales to get a win at 13/8 (Bet365). Our money is going on a 2-0 result 12/1 (Paddypower).
Serbia will be difficult opponents for Northern Ireland and the home side might struggle to contain them for 90 minutes. Having said that , we think Northern Ireland will give a good account of themselves and we’re selecting a draw 9/4 (Paddypower) to be the outcome. A 1-1 correct score bet 11/2 (Ladbrokes) looks decent value and is worth a bet.