there are some cracking world cup qualifying matches coming up this week around europe, but none more so than spain’s trip to italy in a re-run of the euro 2016 round of 16. italy won 2-0 on that occasion, but can spain get revenge on thursday?
we’ve got betting tips, predictions and analysis for that match and some of the other key games, along with live betting odds comparison to make sure you get the best prices on offer, whoever you choose to back!
austria v wales
wales were one of the surprise packages of the euros. under chris coleman’s expert stewardship, the welsh battled their way to the semi finals in france. they went down 2-0 to eventual tournament winners portugal, but they had already surpassed all expectations. wales then put in a confident and composed performance in their first qualifier, battering moldova 4-0 in cardiff.
austria, meanwhile, were very much at the opposite scale at the euros, putting in a wholly underwhelming performance in france. they finished bottom of their group having mustered just a single point from their three games. austria stuttered to a narrow 2-1 victory in georgia in their opening world cup qualifier, but they looked far from convincing.
as such, given that the visitors are sure to go into this game higher on confidence, we predict that it will be the away side celebrating at the end of the night. our betting tip here is therefore a simple one: back wales to win at excellent betting odds of 12/5 with william hill.
republic of ireland v georgia
martin o’neill’s republic of ireland were another side who had a very good euros. they managed to sneak out of their group thanks to a decent win over italy and though they lost to hosts and finalists france in the next round, they certainly didn’t disgrace themselves.
group d is by no means an easy group, and it could go right to the wire in terms of which side finishes top. but ireland will certainly need to get three points from games such as this if they are to be in the hunt. a decent 2-2 draw at serbia last time out wasn’t a bad result, but o’neill will be hoping for a commanding win here.
the bookies think that scenario is likely to play out with most offering odds of just 1/2 on the home side getting the victory. given that this is a highly significant match for the boys in green, we think there might be a few nerves. so while we think they will get the win, we also predict they’ll concede a goal. as such, our betting tip here is to back ireland to win with both teams scoring, a nice bet at odds of 43/10 with 888sport.
italy v spain
the most enticing match of this round of qualifiers in europe has to be italy versus spain. two of the undoubted giants of world football clash, but only the side that finishes top of group g will be guaranteed a spot at russia 2018, so there’s all to play for.
spain will clearly be out for revenge for their defeat in the euros, but with both sides having since changed managers this could be a very different game. we expect both italian boss giampiero ventura and spanish coach julen lopetegui to set up to avoid defeat at all costs. so while this looks like a top match on paper, we predict in practice it might actually be quite a tight and congested encounter with few chances created.
for that reason, we think it could end up 1-0 either way, or indeed as a 0-0 stalemate; so we’re tipping under 1.5 goals as the bet to place in this one at betting odds of 31/20 with betvictor.
belgium v bosnia-herzegovina
belgium were devastated to be knocked out of the euros at the quarter final stage by wales, but it has to be said they simply didn’t perform to their capabilities. now with former everton boss roberto martinez at the helm, it will be interesting to see whether belgium are able to make the most of the talented squad they possess.
the home side are the even money favourites with sportingbet to win this one, and though bosnia-herzegovina can be very stubborn opposition on their day, their lack of consistency regularly costs them. we are therefore making the home win our main betting tip for this one, so get on and double your money.
england v malta
it’s been a tumultuous week or so for england. sam allardyce was looking like he might just be the man to get the best out of a habitually underperforming england side; then he goes and blows it, getting sacked after being involved in a newspaper sting in which he offered to advise how to get around transfer rules in exchange for cash. not clever.
gareth southgate has stepped up from the under-21s to take charge on a caretaker basis and he might not be a bad option in the long term. he’ll need to get off to a winning start if he’s to have a chance of landing the job on a permanent basis, but really anything other than a handsome triumph here would send the alarm bells ringing for england fans.
england are priced as the stupidly short 1/80 favourites with some bookies to win here, and of course – saving a miracle for malta – this should be a walk in the park for the home side. there’s no value in backing that though, so how about pluming for malta frustrating the three lions by keeping it level until half time? the draw at half time is priced at 11/2 with bet365 and it wouldn’t be the greatest shock if that bet comes good.