Football Internationals 22nd Mar

The players do not want to play, their managers do not want them to go, the games are games nobody wants expect UEFA. Despite that the international Football takes centre stage Friday night. Here is our guide to the best of the bets.

Only those with family members playing or the very bored should find themselves in front of the television Friday night watching England take on San Marino. The England game is just a nightmare from a betting point of view it is hard to side with anyone in the one sided match markets. The goalscorer markets are difficult to predict until we know the line up that Roy Hodgson has selected. England will win this comfortably and almost certainly to nil however I can not find an interest on this game from either a betting point of view or a watching angle.

A much more interesting proposition is the game between Scotland and Wales with the Scots 17/20 (general) favourites. This price looks very short bearing in mind Scotland have just won two of their last six though these wins did come in their last two and they are unbeaten in their last eight games on home soil. Wales have lost seven of their last eight away in all competitions though they have won four of their last five against Scotland. I think Wales are overpriced at 4/1 (Coral/william hill) for the victory though injury concerns over the participation of Gareth Bale are just putting me off recommending them. Keep an eye on teamnews and if Bale starts jump on them in the draw no bet market. I am going to recommend Shaun Maloney at 3/1 (ladbrokes) in the anytime scorer market. The Wigan player may not have found the net in recent weeks but he has looked in good form and as one of the few players of real quality he could provide a spark of inspiration.

Northern Ireland face a tough test when they take on Russia on Friday night and the visitors are the 8/15 (general) favourites, the draw is available at 3/1 (general) while a famous night for the hosts is on offer at 7/1 (general). Northern Ireland are on a terrible run of form with no wins from their last six though they have drawn five of these. A word of caution as well for those looking to put Russia in their accumulators the Russians have failed to win on their last two visits to Belfast. As such it might pay then to give the game a miss from the outright markets and look at some value in the other markets. Roman Shirokov is 27/10 (BetVictor) to score anytime and this looks a reasonable price on a player who has scored in Russia’s last three internationals and in four of their last six, including a goal against Northern Ireland last September.

The Republic of Ireland also face a difficult game when they travel to Sweden in a game that will have a big bearing on who will finish second in the group behind Germany. Bookmakers have Sweden as the 8/15 (general) favourites while the draw is 43/13 (pinnacle) and a Republic of Ireland victory is as big as 7/1 (bet365/william hill). I think this price looks a little too high on the visitors though the best way to play this is in the Asian Handicap market where you can get the Irish at 11/14 (pinnacle) with +1.25. This bet pays out full if Ireland win or draw, a half win if they lose by one goal and is only is a full loss if they lose by two or more goals. Just one of the last 50 World Cup qualifiers have Ireland lost by more than one goal and that was against a rampant Germany side.

BEST OF THE BETS

GOLD: Republic of Ireland +1.25 on Asian Handicap, v Sweden 11/14 (Pinnacle)
SILVER: Roman Shirokov to score anytime v Northern Ireland, 27/10 (BetVictor)
BRONZE: Shaun Maloney to score anytime v Wales, 3/1 (ladbrokes)

Go To bet365

#Ad

22/03/2013     © Frixo 2024