Czechia v Republic of Ireland Betting Markets
It's not been easy being a Republic of Ireland supporter in recent times. Since reaching the last sixteen of the 2022 World Cup, the national side have failed to qualify for any of the past five tournaments. It appears that they're on the way back under Heimir Hallgrímsson, with the team now having an outside chance of making it to the United States, Mexico and Canada.
They are the obvious outsiders for a clash at the Fortuna Arena in Prague. The bookies offer 3.60 that Ireland claim a normal time victory and they are 2.50 to go through in some shape of form. This suggests that the visitors have a 33% chance to go through, although perhaps they'll benefit from being the underdogs.
Czechia are another side hoping to return to former glories. They have previously been one of the strongest teams in Europe although not been seen at a World Cup since 2006. They bowed out of the group stage on that occasion and have missed out on the previous four tournaments although this is a strong iteration of the team.
Miroslav Koubek will hope that his side can continue their excellent form at home. Aside from a goalless draw against Croatia, the Czechs were able to win all their other matches in front of their own fans. They thrashed Gibraltar 6-0 in their last game although they did lose 2-1 to the Faroe Islands as recently as October which will give the Irish some encouragement.
Ireland will certainly draw confidence from the 3-2 win that was achieved in Budapest, with these heroics seeing Troy Parrott pilfer a hat-trick including a goal in injury-time to dump out their opponents and get a lifeline.
Goals Under/Over
There's so much at stake when it comes to this game and it's no surprise that Under 2.5 Goals is trading at odds-on. We can see this being a cagey affair and Czechia tend to run a tight ship at home. That goalless draw against Croatia was a case in hand where the home side had the better chances and we know that this team will be well-organised.
However, this could be a straight shootout considering that one team has to go through. An early goal might lead to plenty more being scored, with Ireland serving it up in Budapest when notching three times. Perhaps attack is the best form of defence for a side who have achieved some impressive results in recent times.
Putting two goals past Portugal at the Aviva Stadium wasn't on anyone's bingo card and perhaps Over 2.5 Goals might well happen at a decent price.
BTTS
BTTS No is trading at a slightly shorter price than BTTS Yes. It shouldn't come as a surprise. Although Troy Parrott might have scored a hat-trick in Budapest, it might be that Republic of Ireland struggle to create clear chances and the focus will certainly be on achieving a shutout and mainly to keep things tight.
Before that 3-2 win in Hungary, the previous three games all ended with a BTTS No outcome. There were bloodless wins at home to Armenia and Portugal which came after a 1-0 reverse in Lisbon. Defensively the team have shown their capabilities of holding steady and finding ways to get positive results.
Three of the past four Czechia games have ended with a BTTS No outcome and the only game in which they've conceded came when losing 2-1 away to Faroe Islands in a surprising fashion. However, the latter are no longer European minnows and actually managed four wins along with four defeats during World Cup qualifying.
It could be that one goal is enough to settle this tie and the bookies have built this into the price. However, with the stakes so high, we can't be certain whether this game will feature both teams scoring or not.
First Goalscorer
When discussing Czechia and their goal prospects, we generally start with Patrik Schick. The Bayer Leverkusen forward has an enviable strike rate at international level, with the 30-year-old averaging nearly a goal per two games for his country. He bagged four times during the first phase of qualifying and is one of the few players for either team who is a top-class player.
It's been a relatively modest goal return this season for the forward, with seven goals being managed across twenty Bundesliga appearances, although he's had a few injury problems and could be back firing in this match. Captain Tomas Soucek will also pose a threat from set pieces considering his aerial presence.
Adam Karabec was able to score twice during qualifying and the 22-year-old is now starting to blossom career-wise, with the player on loan at Lyon although he's finding goals difficult to score in Ligue 1. Vaclav Cerny operates for Besiktas and has eight goals from twenty-nine international appearances.
Troy Parrott was the scoring hero against Hungary and could hold the key for Ireland in this tricky encounter. The 24-year-old has scored ten times in thirty-three appearances for the Republic and he's also got a solid goals record for AZ where twenty-eight goals have been managed across fifty-two games.