Saudi Arabia vs Japan
FreeWe’re always looking for new recruits to help us so please click here if you want to find out more about the ways you can help us (e.g. local input, watching games)!
Our in-play service continues to make profit so click here if you are interested in a free trial!
There are 14 bankers and 9 value tips in the Members Section today so feel free to sign up here to see them + team news!
Saudi Arabia have made life very hard for themselves today by throwing away a one-goal lead against United Arab Emirates to lose 2-1. They’ve only got themselves to blame, too – they had more than enough good situations to put that game to bed that they simply didn’t take. Take nothing away from United Arab Emirates, though – they scored two absolute beauties in that game. Al Maiouf’s placing for Khalil’s effort from range was questionable but Mabkhout’s goal was pure class with an outstanding swivel and finish. If Messi had scored that they’d still be talking about it today! Anyway, Saudi Arabia now find themselves realistically needing to beat a very good Japanese team in order to automatically qualify for the World Cup because the reality is that Australia are going to find a way past Thailand at home and thus anything but a home win for Saudi Arabia will see them enter the play-offs. They won’t fancy that so they’re going to have to give it all tonight.
To be fair to Saudi Arabia, I’d fancy them at home against most Asian teams, and there’s a chance that Japan will field a rotated squad, given that they’ve already qualified for the World Cup. Hell, Japan may even rotate their squad a little here because the game is entirely risk-free to them. However, Saudi Arabia are going to have to be very sharp to beat them today because Japan are going to be afforded the chance of counter-attacking, and they’re deadly at that nowadays. Most teams in Asia today simply deny them that possibility because defending against them is far easier that way. Saudi Arabia are not good enough to play that way, and circumstances dictate that they cannot do so. Therefore, I am anticipating an interesting game here.
I thought that, performance-wise, Saudi Arabia did enough to impress against United Arab Emirates. If they play that way here, their pace and quality will see them score at least once. Defensively, Japan are not an impressive team – strong pace in behind will cause them no end of trouble. They usually find ways to both score and concede in their away games, though, and a susceptible Saudi Arabia defence should leave Japan will plenty of opportunities to score goals here. On paper, Japan are stronger, able to call upon the likes of Kagawa, Kubo, and Honda. Tactically, they should be able to damage their hosts, particularly given the circumstances. Therefore, we should have an interesting game here.
I would not touch the 1×2 market personally but taking over 2.5 goals is logical.
Over 2.5 goals at 21/20.
No freebies today so good luck if you’re betting!
Tuesday’s Thoughts
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. For confidence ratings, you’ll need to go to the members section here.
World Cup Qualifiers – Africa:
Congo vs Ghana
South Africa vs Cape Verde Islands
Congo DR vs Tunisia
Ivory Coast vs Gabon
Burkina Faso vs Senegal
Egypt vs Uganda
Mali vs Morocco
Algeria vs Zambia
World Cup Qualifiers – Asia:
Australia vs Thailand
Iraq vs United Arab Emirates
Qatar vs China
Iran vs Syria
Uzbekistan vs South Korea
Saudi Arabia vs Japan
World Cup Qualifiers – Europe:
Austria vs Georgia
Moldova vs Wales
Republic of Ireland vs Serbia
Republic of Macedonia vs Albania
Italy vs Israel
Liechtenstein vs Spain
Iceland vs Ukraine
Turkey vs Croatia
Kosovo vs Finland
World Cup Qualifiers – South America:
Bolivia vs Chile
Colombia vs Brazil
Ecuador vs Peru
Argentina vs Venezuela
Paraguay vs Uruguay
Asian Cup Qualifiers:
North Korea vs Lebanon
Nepal vs Tajikistan
Macao vs India
Cambodia vs Vietnam
Singapore vs Turkmenistan
Philippines vs Yemen
Bhutan vs Palestine
Malaysia vs Hong Kong
Kyrgyzstan vs Myanmar
Oman vs Maldives
Bahrain vs Chinese Taipei
Jordan vs Afghanistan
UEFA European U21 Championship Qualifiers:
Armenia vs Republic of Macedonia
Azerbaijan vs Republic of Ireland
Hungary vs Malta
Czech Republic vs Belarus
Denmark vs Lithuania
Finland vs Faroe Islands
Russia vs Gibraltar
Romania vs Switzerland
Bulgaria vs Luxembourg
Andorra vs Ukraine
France vs Kazakhstan
Sweden vs Cyprus
Norway vs Israel
Germany vs Kosovo
Estonia vs Spain
Belgium vs Turkey
Portugal vs Wales
Slovakia vs Northern Ireland
Scotland vs Netherlands
England vs Latvia
Enjoy your free betting tips!