Estonia vs Republic of Ireland
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Today’s secondary featured game picked itself, really – it’s the all-important first leg of the UEFA European Championship Play-Off between Baltic outfit Estonia and the ever-battling Republic of Ireland.
Opinions are divided all over the place as to what will happen here, as you’d expect. However, the general concensus appears to be that Ireland will win this one, or at least won’t concede here. Whereas I’ll happily concede that it’s a possibility, I just don’t think it’ll happen.
You see, I’ve monitored Estonia’s progression avidly over the past couple of years and I can honestly say that they’re a good side nowadays – a very good side. No, they’re not Spain, and no, they don’t have the depth that they need to become a force but their starting eleven is very good, in my view. There are key players in different areas of the team, which is important, rather than the unbalanced abundance of talent that other nations have in their squad.
So – who are their key players? Well, their defence cannot function without defensive rock Piiroja in the middle. He’s a beast of a defender with bags of experience and he commands this defence. Wisla Krakow ‘keeper Pareiko is important too, although he is prone to the odd error, it must be said. However, the heartbeat of the team is attacking midfielder Vassiljev, who basically makes everything happen. He and Dimitrijev in midfield give Estonia an additional dimension and it makes them hard to play against. The skills and pace of Tarmo Kink and the finesse of Kaimer Saag makes this Estonia attack look rather dangerous from various perspectives, in my view, and the long-awaited return of pacey Joel Lindpere is a timely boost for coach Ruutli. For me, this is the best Estonia team for a long, long time and their consistency has impressed me a lot throughout the qualifiers and I’m not about to lose sight of that now, despite the importance of this game.
I have the utmost respect for Ireland, however – they’re easily the most tenacious international side that I have ever seen in my life. With wily old Trapattoni in charge, it’s no surprise at all that Ireland have become very astute tactically. I wouldn’t say they’re entertaining; I struggle to name any side that plays “Italian” football internationall as being an “entertaining” side and Ireland are no exception. However, they’re efficient and they will be a tough nut to crack here, I’m quite sure.
Worryingly for the Irish, they do miss Long and Doyle up front, which are hefty blows as both are dangerous strikers. Even Leon Best is out and although I don’t rate him too highly, it’s still a loss for the Irish. I suspect that’s why a lot of people are sliding toward the “0-0” draw option and like I said earlier – it’s not impossible, given the magnitude of this game. However, we’re overlooking the fact that they’ve got Robbie Keane, Damien Duff, and Aidan McGeady to call upon – that’s more than enough to cause problems for the Estonians here, irrespective of Trappatoni’s defensive approach. Irish counter-attacks can be dangerous and as good as Piiroja is for Estonia, I do think that they’re prone at the back when the others are isolated, hence Estonia conceding goals a little too easily sometimes.
So, I’m opting for the more “unpopular” option of taking both sides to score here. You won’t see many games where Estonia don’t score at home due their attacking threats and I think they’ll score here. Let’s face it – they have to, realistically, because no game in Dublin is ever easy. However, I think that the Irish can and will score too in what I expect to start as a cagey affair but gradually open up with the goals. For me, taking both sides to score at 11/10 is an interesting bet today.
Verdict: Both sides to score at 11/10.
Friday’s Picks
My tips:
As ever, please find my value tips listed below in no particular order:
Hungary vs Liechtenstein – over 3 goals at 4/5.
Well, it’s happened before and I’m sure it’ll happen again here – people totally underestimating Liechtenstein. Whereas I wouldn’t call them a particularly good side, they do have bags of experience and they do have some decent attacking players. Importantly, Burgmeier returns to their squad, who makes their whole attack tick. Mario Frick is in the squad, who is easily their best player of all time, and a host of other able players are in the visitors’ squad here as they look to spoil the party. I don’t think the visitors will come here to defend, in all honesty – they’ve become more attack-minded over the past couple of years and why not? They do have some good attackers. I actually fancy them to score here but that’s another matter.
Importantly, this game should mean a lot to Hungary, despite it being a friendly. Firstly, it’s their last game in their national stadium as it’s being rebuilt and this game is subseqently sold out. Secondly, this game has been earmarked as the one where the Hungarian national team pays respect to Florian Albert, one of the most important players in Hungarian history, who sadly died recently so the hosts should be motivated here. Lastly, talented attacker Dzsudszak is back in business and ready to dominate midfield with the likes of Gera and ever-impressive Toszer, which should help Hungary glaze over their absence of able strikers. Priskin, Nemeth etc. are decent strikers but nothing special – I still think that they need Szalai back to function properly. However, Hungary’s weapon has long been their midfield and it should be here too now that it’s been returned to a full compliment. At the back, there’s only Juhasz with any capability so I do think the visitors may poach a goal here if they approach the game correctly. However, we do have to expect a home win too so bluntly, I expect goals.
Therefore, taking over 3 goals at around 4/5 does appeal to me here. I’d personally avoid the handicaps as I have zero faith in the Hungarian defence and I do rate the visitors’ attack more than most but we really should see goals here.
Verdict: Over 3 goals at 4/5.
Accumulator fodder:
Argentina, Congo, Cameroon, Mexico, Hungary, Netherlands, Belarus U21.
Recommended bets:
No multiples appeal to me today, sorry guys!
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!
World Cup Qualifiers – South America:
Argentina vs Bolivia (8) over 2.5 goals
Uruguay vs Chile (7) 2-1
Paraguay vs Ecuador (7) 2-0
Colombia vs Venezuela (6) 2-1, at least one red card in this game
World Cup Qualifiers – Africa:
Djibouti vs Namibia (7) 0-1
Comoros vs Mozambique (7) 1-2
Sao Tome e Principe vs Congo (8) 0-2
Ertirea vs Rwanda (5) 1-1
Equatorial Guinea vs Madagascar (7) 1-0
Chad vs Tanzania (7) 0-0
Seychelles vs Kenya (6) 1-1
Guinea-Bissau vs Togo (5) 2-1
Mauritius vs Liberia (5) 1-1
Swaziland vs Congo DR (6) 1-1
Lesotho vs Burundi (4) 1-0
World Cup Qualifiers – Asia:
Tajikistan vs Japan (6) 0-1
United Arab Emirates vs South Korea (5) 1-1
Uzbekistan vs North Korea (5) 1-0
Oman vs Australia (6) 0-0
Iraq vs China (5) 1-1
Kuwait vs Lebanon (7) 2-0
Bahrain vs Iran (6) 1-1
Jordan vs Singapore (7) 2-0
Qatar vs Indonesia (7) over 2.5 goals
Saudi Arabia vs Thailand (7) 2-1
UEFA European Championship Qualifiers:
Bosnia-Herzegovina vs Portugal (5) 1-2
Turkey vs Croatia (7) 1-1
Czech Republic vs Montenegro (6) 0-0
Estonia vs Republic of Ireland (5) 2-1
International Friendlies:
Cameroon vs Sudan (8) 1-0
Morocco vs Uganda (7) 1-0
Mexico vs Serbia (8) 2-0
Georgia vs Moldova (6) 1-0
Belarus vs Niger (4) 1-1
Albania vs Azerbaijan (7) 1-0
Hungary vs Liechtenstein (8) over 2.5 goals
Denmark vs Sweden (5) 2-2, at least one red card in this game
Cyprus vs Scotland (6) 0-0
Netherlands vs Switzerland (8) 2-0
Greece vs Russia (7) 0-0
Ukraine vs Germany (7) 1-2
Poland vs Italy (7) 0-1
Belgium vs Romania (6) 2-1
France vs USA (7) 1-0
Panama vs Costa Rica (4) 1-1
UEFA European U21 Championship Qualifiers:
Montenegro vs Andorra (6) 1-0
Republic of Macedonia vs Faroe Islands (5) 1-0
Armenia vs Czech Republic (5) 0-1
Ukraine vs Finland (7) 2-0
Greece vs Germany (7) 1-2
San Marino vs Belarus (8) 0-2
Australian A-League:
Adelaide United vs Gold Coast United (5) 1-1
Bulgarian A PFG:
Rakovski vs Cherno More Varna (4) 0-1
Welsh Premier League:
Bala Town vs Prestatyn Town (5) 2-1
Carmarthen Town vs Neath Athletic (7) 0-2
Port Talbot Town vs Aberystwyth Town (5) 2-1
Enjoy your free betting tips!