World Cup Quarter Finals 5th Jul

ARGENTINA v BELGIUM, Saturday 5th July, 17:00, ITV

BET365 make the Argentina the 6/5 favourites for this last eight game with Belgium in a battle between two sides who have disappointed despite making the last eight. The South Americans have a wealth of attacking talent though have struggled to break opponents down while the Europeans have won all four games yet have been ahead for a total of only 25 minutes throughout the World Cup. If you fancy the Europeans to come out on top then you can back them at 11/4 while the draw is a real option at 23/10.

Lionel Messi as ever will be the key for Argentina and he is 3/1 to score first or 21/20 to score anytime while Angel di Maria who got the only goal in the last round is 10/1 to score first or 15/4 to net at anytime. Belgium meanwhile must decide who starts up front between Romelu Lukaku (3/1 to score anytime) or Divock Origi (13/5 to score anytime).

Goals could be hard to come by in this game as Belgium have kept a clean sheet in their last three matches while Argentina have won two of their last three 1-0. You can get just 4/7 that this game has under 2.5 goals and 7/4 that just the one goal is scored.

The recommended bet in this game is to take the half time score to be 0-0 which is an 11/8 shot. This bet would have paid in two of the last three Argentina games and three of the four Belgium games. This was also the pattern of the first set of knockout games with six of the eight games in the last 16 being without a goal at the end of the first half.

RECOMMENDATION: 0-0 at half time between Argentina and Belgium, 11/8 bet365

Holland v Costa Rica, Saturday 5th July, 21:00, BBC 1

The least open of the quarter-finals, or at least according to bookmakers, is the game between Holland and Costa Rica with the Dutch just 1/2 to win the game in 90 minutes.

Despite making the last eight I just can not get caught up in the hype surrounding Oranje as I think an excellent 45 minutes against Spain has made them better in the public eye then they have actually been. The game against Mexico was a prime example as they were very lucky to progress through thanks to an Arjen Robben dive for a penalty. Australia and Chile also caused them all manner of problems and I think Costa Rica can also do the same here.

Los Ticos will prove stubborn opponents as they have done all tournament and odds of 13/8 along with the draw in the double chance look interesting on a side that have gone undefeated against Greece, Italy, Uruguay and England. My worries are that the North Americans might be tired after playing spells of the game with Greece with just ten men. The Dutch are also experts at getting goals late. It makes sense then to play on the draw/Costa Rica in the half time double chance market at 8/11 as they have shipped just one first goal half all tournament while the Dutch have netted ten of their twelve goals in the last 45 minutes.

In terms of goalscorers Robin van Persie is just 6/5 to score anytime while Arjen Robben is a 6/4 shot. For Costa Rica Bryan Ruiz has two in his last three games and is 9/2 to score anytime while teammate Joel Campbell is available at 3/1 to get among the goals.

RECOMMENDATION: Costa Rica/draw double chance in half time market, 8/11 (bet365)

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04/07/2014     © Frixo 2024