World Cup Qualifiers - England vs Khazakhstan, Scotland vs Norway
Could All Four Home Nations Win?
Of the matches involving the home nations it would seem Scotland and Northern Ireland have the toughest tasks when they play Norway and Slovenia respectively. While England and Wales would appear to just put eleven players on the pitch to win against Kazakhstan and Liechtenstein.
England
England could play with eight men and still beat Kazakhstan to be honest and odds on a win at 1/14 (Partybets) aren’t really worth backing unless you have the odd £140,000 to play with. It’s really just a case of how many England are going to score and who is going to get them.
There’s no doubt that Kazakhstan will come to defend and try and keep the scoreline respectable. If they can hols out until the second half (Which seems unlikely) they could get away with a 2-0 defeat 5/1 (Skybet).It’s more likely they will succumb to early England pressure and if they do it could end up a rout. We think England will score early and then probably be able to ease off a bit late on in the match. Our money is going on the 5-0 correct score 7/1 (VCbet) and we’re taking Wayne Rooney to be first goalscorer 10/3 (Skybet). Emile Heskey to score anytime at 11/10 (Bet365) also looks worth a bet.
Scotland
Scotland recovered from a bad result against Macedonia to get a win in Iceland that keeps their World Cup hopes alive. They have a tough looking match against Norway at Hampden in a game where once again victory is vital to the Scots if they are looking to be serious challengers in the group. Norway come into this match after a disappointing 2-2 home draw with Iceland and they know a defeat here would put a serious dent in their hopes of qualifying.
There doesn’t seem to be too much between these two sides but we believe Scotland could just edge a tight match and they look worth backing at 11/10 (Partybets). We’re going for a 2-1 win to Scotland 9/1 (Betfair). James Mc Fadden always seems to get goals in big matches for the Scots and he could be value to be the first goalscorer at 7/1(Paddypower).
Wales
The last time these two teams met was in a friendly back in 2006 when Wales won comfortably by 4-0. A result like that looks to be on the cards again and Wales 1/8 (Bodog) should win handsomely. Liechtenstein did get a 0-0 draw in Azerbaijan, who Wales struggled against, but Wales won’t play so poorly again and they can’t be opposed.
We’re going for a 3-0 correct score 6/1 (Ladbrokes).Given his prowess from free-kicks Gareth Bale looks to be overpriced at 12/1 (Bet365) to be the first goalscorer and he’s well worth considering at this price.
Northern Ireland
It will be a hard match away in Slovenia for the Irish, who haven’t won away in their last five matches, but Slovenia have only won one of their last five home matches and that was a 1-0 win over Estonia who are hardly world beaters. Northern Ireland have to be in with a chance of winning this and the10/3 on offer (VCbet) looks to be pretty generous.
Slovenia do normally score at home so Ireland will probably need to score twice to secure the three points. That will be a big ask for aside who have only managed three goals in their last five away matches, but it’s not impossible. The draw 12/5 (Coral) really does look the safest bet, but we’re going for the win for Northern Ireland. The correct score of 2-1 14/1 (Bet365) could be worth taking a chance on and David Healy 7/1 (Paddypower) is always worth a bet to be first goalscorer.