This article will preview England, Wales and Scotland’s second games of the qualifiers for Euro 2016 as the home nations look to stamp their authority on their respective groups. England come up against minnows San Marino whilst the other two sides will face trickier games.
The other game we are previewing here is the televised clash between Poland and Germany which looks likely to be a cracking game. We hope our tips across these four games spread across Thursday, Friday and Saturday will help you win big during a break from Premier League football, so have a read and place your bets.
Thursday 9th October 2014
England v San Marino (19:45) – Wayne Rooney to score two or more (7/4 with Coral)
These two sides were drawn against each other in the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers and the two games saw England score 13 goals with no reply. We don’t need to tell you that the home side are the overwhelming favourites for this game, at 1/100 with Betfred. Due to the poor odds for this we would obviously avoid betting on match results and explore other markets. In the unlikely event San Marino record just their second win in an international game BetVictor will pay out 80/1 whilst a draw is 18/1 with the same bookie.
This is a game unlike many others and some of the markets we recommend to exploit are very different to regular ones we might opt for. For example the best odds for Wayne Rooney to score first are 9/4 with Coral which is quite poor for first goal scorer odds considering the risk it could be one of many players who potentially hit the net first. Instead we would recommend backing the England captain to score two or more at 7/4 with the same bookie. Handicap betting looks the best option away from goal scorer bets and we expect England to win by at least five goals.
Friday 10th October 2014
Wales v Bosnia-Herzegovina (19:45) – Bosnia to win and both teams to score (19/5 with BetVictor)
Wales come up against a Bosnian side with a point to prove after they lost their opening game 2-1 to Cyprus. We foresee a tight game with plenty of goals in it and our tip is an away win with both teams to score at 19/5 with Ladbrokes. The visitors are a strong side with Edin Dzeko and Miralem Pjanic (who play for Manchester City and Roma respectively) being their main threats. For Wales to win, BetVictor offer the best odds of the leading bookmakers at 12/5. An away win is priced at 5/4 with Bet365 and a draw is 23/10 (again with BetVictor).
Chris Coleman will be without first choice central midfielders Aaron Ramsey and Joe Allen so the pressure will be piled upon Gareth Bale even more. He is 17/4 to open the scoring with BetVictor and is our first goal scorer recommendation. Another tip in this game is both teams to score. This is a game that will probably decide who takes second spot in the group behind Belgium so both teams will be very eager to be at their best which is why we can see this being a goal-filled affair in which backing BTTS should pay dividends at a best price of 4/5 with Ladbrokes.
Saturday 11th October 2014
Scotland v Georgia (17:00) – Scotland to win (4/5 with Betfred)
After being narrowly defeated by world champions Germany in the opening round of fixtures in Group D there will be optimism for Gordon Strachan and his side. Their opponents haven’t won a competitive game since September 2012 and we don’t expect them to win here – they are 15/4 with Bet365 to do so though. After their impressive performance against the best side in the world we expect Scotland to come out on top of this one and are priced at 4/5 with Betfred to do so. For the game to finish all-square, BetVictor offer the best odds at 5/2.
Scotland will be without the suspended Charlie Mulgrew after he saw red in the closing stages of the Germany game. We expect Steven Fletcher to start this game up top after he scored twice for his club last weekend. Another player who scored for their club and who is also expected to start again is Steven Naismith and we have chosen him as our pick to score first. BetVictor offer the best odds for this at 15/4.
Poland v Germany (19:45) – Germany to win and both teams to score (21/10 with BetVictor)
The final game we have chosen to preview and offer tips on is Poland’s clash with Germany, which is being broadcast live in ITV4. Despite only scraping past Scotland in their first game on the road to France 2016, the away side are odds-on to win this game in what will probably be their trickiest game in their group. BetVictor offer the best odds of 8/15 for a German victory. A win for the home side, meanwhile, is out at 5/1 with Bet365 (which might tempt a few), while the draw is priced at 10/3, again with Bet365.
To improve the odds on a Germany win we recommend you back them to win with both teams scoring. Their two games since winning the World Cup have seen both teams score (the 4-2 defeat to Argentina and the 2-1 win over Scotland) as they appear to be missing the recently retired Phillip Lahm and Per Mertersacker.
At 21/10 with BetVictor this represents great value and is our main tip for this game. After scoring twice against Scotland, Thomas Muller is our pick to score first. The Bayern Munich front man has a great record of 24 goals in 58 games for his country and is always a threat. Robert Lewandowsi to score anytime is also a good option as he comes up against many former and current team mates and will want to prove himself.