Carling Nations Cup - Wales v Northern Ireland
Wales (0-0-2) take on Northern Ireland (0-0-2) on Friday night in their last Carling Nations Cup fixture. They are the favourites to get their first win of the campaign at the Aviva Stadium, while Northern Ireland seek their first victory as well.
Wales lost to Scotland 3-1 on Wednesday for their first lost to the country since 1984. Welsh manager Gary Speed said his side isn’t getting any respect after losing 3-0 to Republic of Ireland in their first match. Wales has six straight defeats overall, scoring just two goals during that span.
Robert Earnshaw scored his first goal against Scotland under Speed after being named captain. He also scored in the Championship playoffs for Nottingham Forest last week. He does well in European competition as he scored in the 2-2 draw against Northern Ireland six years ago. That makes him a good bet to score first with 5/1 odds at Coral.
Northern Ireland is struggling, too. They haven’t score in five of their last nine matches, including the last two. In those nine fixtures, they have four goals. It has been two years since they scored more than two goals in a match. Wales could keep a clean sheet with 11/8 odds at Coral.
Northern Ireland lost 3-0 to Scotland and then 5-0 to Republic of Ireland on Tuesday. Nigel Worthington’s side will be without Steven Davis and Sammy Clingan on Friday because of injuries. That leaves Warren Feeney with 7/1 odds at Coral to score first, but he has yet to reach the net in 18 matches. Wales should get the win as Northern Ireland haven’t beaten them in the last three matches.
Wales v Northern Ireland Match Odds (supplied by Coral)
Wales: 4/5
Draw: 23/10
Northern Ireland: 14/5