France vs Republic of Ireland
FreeToday’s featured game is the important World Cup Qualifier between France and Ireland. Having won the first leg in Ireland 1-0, France clearly have the upper hand in this game. The onus is on the Ireland side to make things interesting by taking the game to France whilst playing in France.
I’ve been one of the biggest advocates of betting against France since approximately 2002, which is when they last played with any heart. France nowadays tend to play for money and the possibility of more money – nothing else tends to work! What other reason could France have to have so suddenly burst into life lately? A 0-0 draw in Serbia with ten men and then nine goals scored in three games irrespective of their opponents is an impressive run of form, and one that should certainly be taken note of. The French camp is confident and potent at the moment – the players appear to have put their dummies back in with the potential of a bigger pay packet by appearing at the World Cup Finals. Regardless of their motivation, however, France clearly have a better squad than Ireland and really should show that tonight.
I feel sorry for Republic of Ireland. They deserve to be at the World Cup Finals more than France, they play with more heart, and they work harder for their results. However, football is a fickle friend as many sides have discovered. Ireland had all of this in their arsenal in the home encounter with France last week and still lost 1-0. Unfortunately, a slightly demoralised Ireland squad now have to pick themselves up and face the arduous task of attacking France away from home to try and save their World Cup dream. Unfortunately, as much as I’d love to believe the fantasy that is Ireland qualifying for the World Cup, I can only see the Ireland side proving that they’re well out of their depth in this forthcoming game against a side that is a class above them. Ireland simply don’t pose as much of a goal threat as they need to and this has been proven in various games under Trappattoni’s reign i.e. losing 3-0 at home to Australia, drawing 0-0 at home to Montenegro. Ireland’s main strength is their ability to play as one unit and they tend to be defensively sound for that reason. However, they can’t afford to rely on that today as their position in this tie means they have to attack tonight.
To be blunt, France are going to rip Ireland apart on the counter-attack tonight with their lethal pace. For once France are showing some confidence and are scoring goals. Whereas this is a risky call because France don’t have to do anything to progress here, technically, but I expect a full-blooded game from the Irish side that means they’ll throw caution to the wind and ultimately get caught out at the back various times. As much as I hope Platini gets what is coming to him with Ireland putting France out, I just can’t see it happening. For me, there’s far more likelihood and value in taking the home win with -1.75 handicap in what could become quite an embarassing result for Ireland if things go to plan.
Verdict: A France win with -1.75 handicap at 6/4.
Wednesday’s Picks
My tips:
As ever, below are my recommended value tips for today in no particular order:
Honduras vs Peru – “home” win at 5/4.
After an interesting 2-1 victory against Latvia a few days ago, Honduras have proved that they can cope against different footballing styles and still leave their own mark on the game. Honduras boast a better team than most people give them credit for, which I’m happy about as it tends to mean better odds when backing them! Honduras are generally very good when playing at home so it should be interesting to see how they fare whilst playing in USA for this game. Honduras have scored in five of their last six games so I think it’s fair to say that Peru will have their work cut out here, particularly as Honduras enter this game on the back of a win and they play the type of football that Peru don’t tend to deal with.
Peru were officially the worst away side in the South American World Cup Qualifiers this time around with nine defeats in nine away games. They played some horrific football to say the least and managed to prove that travelling is something that they really cannot do. Although Honduras aren’t at home tonight, the trip to USA should be just as difficult for Peru to handle as it is for all their other away games, which certainly lends some favour to Honduras for this tie. As I touched upon briefly before – Peru don’t play good football anymore. They don’t play anywhere near as well as the average South American nation does and the fact that they only scored eleven times in eighteen World Cup Qualifiers speaks volumes.
Verdict: Honduras to win at 5/4 in what should be a tight game!
Ukraine vs Greece – home win at 5/6.
After a predictably boring 0-0 draw in Greece in the first leg, qualification for the World Cup Finals now rests solely upon this game. In terms of quality, Ukraine marginally shade it but lose that margin when you consider the ineptitude of coach Olexsiy Mykhaylychenko so it’s just about even! I can’t see this game containing more than one goal due to the containing footballing styles that both sides employ. Ukraine have better flair players, players who can make things happen, which is why I’m leaning towards them for today’s game. They also have the home advantage so I do think that they’ll do the damage here. Their home advantage in the qualifiers saw them win four home games, draw once, score nine goals and concede just once. For me, this is just enough to take a home win here but this should be a narrow win in a dour encounter so I certainly wouldn’t bother watching it if you do bet on it!
Verdict: A narrow Ukraine victory at 5/6!
Malta vs Bulgaria – over 2.5 goals at 4/5.
First things first – I really would not handicap Bulgaria in this game. Whereas I do think that they’ll win the game, they’re such an unpredictable side away from home that it’s not worth the risk. I do think that it’s worth taking over 2.5 goals, however, because Bulgaria score and concede an awful lot 0f goals and there’s no pressure on this game to encourage otherwise. For instance, consider that Bulgaria have conceded fourteen goals in their last five games away from home in all competitions, which included a 4-1 thrashing by Cyprus, and you get the impression that Malta are more than capable of scoring here. However, Bulgaria have scored twelve goals in their last five games so it’s easy to see how potent they can be, particularly with the likes of Berbatov and Petrov doing the damage. I don’t feel the need to explain to you all as to why Malta are likely to concede a lot of goals because if you don’t know that then you shouldn’t be on this page, frankly!
Verdict: Over 2.5 goals at 4/5 in what should be a crazy and goal-filled encounter!
As ever, if there are any questions/explanations required then feel free to post a comment! For the complete picks listing, see below!
World Cup Qualifiers – European Play-Offs:
Ukraine vs Greece (7) under 2.5 goals
Bosnia-Herzegovina vs Portugal (5) 1-1
Slovenia vs Russia (6) 0-1
France vs Republic of Ireland (8) -1.75 handicap
World Cup Qualifier – African Play-Off:
Algeria vs Egypt (6) 0-1
World Cup Qualifier – South American/North American Play-Off:
Uruguay vs Costa Rica (8) 3-1
Asian Cup:
Malaysia vs Uzbekistan (8) under 2.5 goals
Hong Kong vs Japan (9) over 2.5 goals
Indonesia vs Kuwait (5) 1-1
Thailand vs Singapore (8) 2-1
Syria vs Vietnam (7) 1-0
Bahrain vs Yemen (8) 2-0
UEFA European U21 Championship Qualifiers:
Latvia U21 vs Faroe Islands U21 (8) -1.75 handicap
Turkey U21 vs Estonia U21 (8) 2-1
Bosnia-Herzegovina U21 vs Wales U21 (6) 1-1
Slovakia U21 vs Croatia U21 (6) 1-1
Austria U21 vs Azerbaijan U21 (9) -1.75 handicap
Israel U21 vs Bulgaria U21 (7) 1-0
Switzerland U21 vs Georgia U21 (9) -1.75 handicap
Copa Nissan Sudamericana:
Fluminense vs Cerro Porteno (7) 1-0
Brazilian Serie A:
Gremio vs Palmeiras (7) 2-1
Cypriot Division 1:
Omonia Nicosia vs Ermis (8) 2-0
Greek B Ethniki:
Aigaleo Athens vs Olympiakos Volos (8)
International Friendlies:
Denmark U21 vs Serbia U21 (7) 1-1
Montenegro vs Belarus (6) 1-1
Poland vs Canada (6) 2-1
Malta vs Bulgaria (8) over 2.5 goals
Iran vs Republic of Macedonia (6) 0-1
Saudi Arabia vs Romania (6) 1-2
South Korea vs Serbia (5) 0-0
Germany vs Ivory Coast (8) 2-1
Denmark vs USA (6) 1-0
Austria vs Spain (8) 0-2
Angola vs Ghana (7) 1-2
Netherlands vs Paraguay (8) 2-0
Italy vs Sweden (6) under 2.5 goals
Honduras vs Peru (6) 2-1
Enjoy your free betting tips!