Domestic football may be taking a break for the international teams to take centre stage but there is no break for us. We know that World Cup qualifying throws up a huge amount of chances to beat the bookies. That’s why we’ve put together three different accumulators below from the latest round of fixtures from the UEFA qualifying campaign as the teams attempt to edge towards Russia 2018.
Easy Winner – 10/9 (BetVictor)
- Netherlands to beat Belarus (2/9) – The Dutch were the most noticeable absentees from Euro 2016 and they’ll be desperate to ensure they don’t miss out on the 2018 World Cup as well. Danny Blind’s men won’t let three points slip away at home to Belarus.
- Germany to beat Czech Republic (1/5) – Germany will feel that they let a chance pass them by at the Euros in the summer. Joachim Low will be keen to ensure there is no hangover from that so they should take care of the Czech Republic without too much fuss.
- Scotland to beat Lithuania (9/20) – Gordon Strachan’s Scotland had a nice easy start with their 5-1 win against Malta. They have another very winnable match for their first game at home and should beat Lithuania at odds on.
Medium Risk – 7/2 (Sky Bet)
- Under 2.5 goals in Italy v Spain (4/9) – Italy and Spain are clear favourites to finish top and second in Group G. As matches between the two will likely decide who qualifies automatically, expect a cagey affair on Thursday and side with under 2.5 goals.
- England -3 goal handicap against Malta (1/2) – The England players can put the off field issues to one side at Wembley on Saturday. They will be far too strong for Malta and should win by a big margin in Gareth Southgate’s first match as national team manager.
- Poland to beat Denmark (21/20) – It looks as though there could be a very good game in store between Poland and Denmark. They’ve each got a good chance of making it out of Group E and will be keen for three points on Saturday. Denmark have a decent squad but Poland are very strong at home and should edge their opponents out.
Long Shot – 22/1 (Bet365)
- Austria and Wales to draw (9/4) – Austria have some world class players in their squad who will be a handful for Chris Coleman’s Wales. However, the Welsh are tough to beat away from home and have enough about them to claim a point in Vienna.
- Italy and Spain to draw (2/1) – You get the feeling that a point would be acceptable for both Italy and Spain. They certainly won’t want to gift their Group D opponents anything at Juventus Stadium so a draw looks a very plausible outcome at a decent price.
- Slovenia and Slovakia to draw (21/10) – Slovenia and Slovakia know that they’ve got their work cut out to finish above England in Group F. Therefore they need to win games against each other. We should be expecting a very entertaining match between the two but it would be no major surprise to see them end up with a disappointing point each.