Belgium U21 vs England U21
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Today’s secondary featured game is the UEFA European U21 Championship Qualifier between Belgium and England.
I can’t lie, guys – I have zero faith in Belgium U21’s defence and the fact that they’ve shipped seven goals in their four games in the current campaign reinforces my opinion. The quality just isn’t there but also Belgium’s tactics are to attack, which is their strongest area so it does at least make sense. Belgium’s samba defending does stop them taking three points sometimes, unfortunately, but I think that they’ll change that around today. Nations work harder when they’re underdogs and Belgium U21 will most probably relish taking on a good England U21 side here. Belgium U21 do have a very good attack and they’ll look to make the most of it here with De Pauw, Badibanga etc. gelling very well and causing all their opposing defences problems so far in this tournament. Looking at the table, you have to say that this is something of a must win game for Belgium U21 too, which certainly aids my bet.
So why bet against England U21, who consistently produce a good side at this level? Well, for me, it boils down to their attacking options, or lack of. I took England U21 to beat the -2.5 handicap against Iceland U21 last week and to be honest, I was a little fortunate that it came in with most the goals coming when Iceland U21 capitulated at the end of the game. Until then, England U21 hadn’t done anywhere near enough and I’d actually shamefully given up on the bet because Delfouneso had left the field injured. For me, he’s the only good striker currently in the England U21 squad but that injury has ruled him out of the trip to Belgium U21 and with the greatest of respect to Iceland U21, this game is much harder for today’s visitors. Now, England U21 do have some good players, especially in midfield, so writing them off from winning any game is always a bold move. However, I just don’t see the attacking threat here, even with Belgium U21’s shoddy defence, so I have to give the potent hosts the advantage here.
I’m happy to concede that there’s a lot of risk in this bet as Belgium U21 would struggle to keep San Marino U21 out most of the time. However, if it develops into a full-throttle open game as I expect then there’s only one side here with the firepower to win the game and that’s Belgium U21 so my call is the home win with draw no bet cover at 11/4.
Verdict: Belgium U21 to win with draw no bet at 11/4.
Monday’s Picks
My tips:
Greece U21 vs Bosnia-Herzegovina U21 – home win with -1 Asian Handicap at 11/10.
I’ve been complimentary of Greece U21 in recent weeks and I still am now because on their own turf they look very, very strong. I mentioned in my preview last week the difficulties that Germany U21 may have in winning there but that I still expected them to triumph. I was partially correct as it was a tight game but I certainly didn’t think it’d quite be the nail-biter that it was, in all honesty! It was a fantastic game of football though and that’s what you can always expect from Greece U21 when they play at home. They’ve got some very good players in their ranks and if they demonstrate half of the tenacity in this game that they did against Germany U21 last week then Greece U21 should cruise to a win here. Bosnia-Herzegovina U21 are little more than a “stopper” U21 side with very few players that I rate. They’ll occasionally surprise me but generally, they’re what I would refer to as “cannon fodder”, with the greatest of respect to them. They lost 2-1 at an average Cyprus U21 side on saturday and that doesn’t give them much rest ahead of this game either – just two days, in fact. Greece U21 have had an additional day to prepare and they’ve also not had to travel anywhere. Given that the hosts have a much stronger side than their opponents, taking the hosts with a -1 Asian Handicap really appeals to me today.
Verdict: Greece U21 to beat the -1 Asian Handicap at 11/10.
Netherlands U21 vs Scotland U21 – both sides to score at evens.
This should be a very interesting game, in my view. On paper, everyone would be nailing the Dutch win and maybe they will – who knows? However, I can only give an opinion based on what I see and what I have seen from Netherlands U21 in the current campaign does not impress me. They were lucky in Bulgaria and they were lucky in Austria with the hosts missing a penalty in the latter of those two games. A weak Bulgaria U21 gave them a tough game and Austria U21 dominated proceedings but failed to take their chances. The Scots have a good U21 side and have done for a while now so I really wouldn’t write their chances off here. True enough, the Dutch have enough firepower to win this game but I anticipate a much closer game than the bookies do, looking at the odds. The Scots love to be the underdogs and it takes a good side to stop them from scoring nowadays. The Dutch fail to convince me with their defending at any level so I think there’s sufficient scope to be interested in taking both sides to score in this game, especially with such generous odds on offer.
Verdict: Both sides to score at evens.
Accumulator fodder:
Greece U21, France U21, Poland U21, Republic of Ireland U21.
As ever, if there are any explanations required then please feel free to post a comment! For the remainder of my thoughts on today’s games, see below, although I feel compelled to write that the below are not necessarily my tips but merely my thoughts to prevent endless questions about my thoughts on certain games!
International Friendly:
Egypt vs Brazil (4) 1-1
UEFA European U21 Championship Qualifiers:
Greece vs Bosnia-Herzegovina (8) 2-0
Croatia vs Estonia (7) 2-0
Poland vs Moldova (8) 2-0
Netherlands vs Scotland (7) 2-1
Albania vs Portugal (7) 0-1
Spain vs Switzerland (6) over 2.5 goals
Republic of Ireland vs Liechtenstein (8) 2-0
France vs Slovakia (8) 2-0
Belgium vs England (5) 2-1
Enjoy your free betting tips!