Between Sunday and Tuesday we shall witness the second legs of the four World Cup play-off matches involving European teams. Up first it’s Switzerland who welcome Northern Ireland to Basel, shortly followed by a clash between Greece and Croatia. On Monday, Italy are out to confirm their place in what would be a 15th successive World Cup and it’s Sweden who will be looking to put this great run to an end.
The remaining play-off tie takes place on Tuesday evening, Republic of Ireland versus Denmark. Both sides battled so hard to reach this stage so it’ll be an extra bitter blow for the nation that misses out. Among the qualification bouts there are also some friendlies to look at. England played Germany earlier in the week and the two nations have organised another tough looking friendly for themselves. Germany take on Euro 2016 finalists France while England face the flair of a Brazil at Wembley.
Sunday 12th November 2017
Switzerland v Northern Ireland (17:00) – Switzerland to win (8/15 with Betfair)
In all of their last seven home fixtures, Switzerland have come out on top and it’s a nice record to have coming into a crunch game. Vladimir Petkovic will be hoping that his side can put in a similar performance to the one in Belfast on Thursday that saw his side win 1-0. Although it was a controversial penalty that secured the narrow victory, the Swiss dominated on the night and will confident of wrapping up this tie on Sunday.
As for Northern Ireland, they have somewhat of an unconvincing away record when taking a look at results over the past couple of years. The problem for Michael O’Neil’s men on the road isn’t their defence, rather their lack of fire power. Northern Ireland have fired blank on three of their last five away tests and they only managed a rather modest three past San Marino. This is a game where they need to go out and find at least one goal so siting back as they usually do is not an option. It”s hard to see who the source of a goal might be though against such stern opponents.
Greece v Croatia (19:45) – Greece to win or draw (7/10 with Bet365)
Despite setting up defensively in Croatia, Greece fell to a 4-1 defeat in the first leg, a result which has almost ended this contest. Their only hope is to grab an early goal here and hope they can score two more without conceding. Their goalscoring record would not indicate this is something that is likely though. Michael Skibbe’s men have only managed to score more than twice on two occasions since October 2015, both times coming against minnows Gibraltar.
Scoring goals is only half the battle, Greece simply cannot afford to let goals go in at other end. To see a usually resolute side concede four goals was a big surprise and it turned out the absence of Roma centre back Kostas Manolas did have a big impact. He returns from his suspension here but is up against a confident Croatia attack, packing some talented names. It’s very hard to see the hosts pulling of a miraculous comeback but they do look capable of at least restoring some pride when they take to the field in Piraeus.
Monday 13th November 2017
Italy v Sweden (19:45) – Italy to win to nil (21/20 with Betfred)
Just the one goal has found its way past Gigi Buffon in his last seven home appearances for his county, quite the formidable record. In front of the Juventus shot-stopper are several top class defenders, including the likes of Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini. They’ll be absolute determined to keep the Swedish attack out here and their record suggests they can do just that.
A clean sheet is one thing but can Italy find enough to secure a win in this match? Giampiero Ventura certainly has a few attacking options at his disposal that could make the difference, but Ciro Immobile is the obvious pick given his scintillating form for Lazio this season. The 27-year-old has 14 Serie A goals already this season and on home soil, he should be able to help his side find the back of the net.
Tuesday 14th November 2017
Germany v France (19:45) – Both teams to score (8/11 with Bet365)
Germany didn’t drop a single point while qualifying for the upcoming World Cup and it’s something which has made them the early favourites for next year’s tournament. They’ll be out to show the rest of the world what they are made of here and Joachim Low is very likely to name a strong side. He has a squad oozing with talent, although he is without centre back Jonas Hector who was a regular feature in the German starting XI during qualification.
France are also without a key man for this clash, Tottenham keeper Hugo Lloris, who is suffering from an adductor injury. The French captain was present when his country last faced Germany, a game France won 2-0. That clash still remains as Germany’s most recent defeat and they have been pretty impeccable since. Both nations will fancy winning this game with the firepower they have and we should have action at both ends in what should be a fascinating encounter.
Republic of Ireland v Demark (19:45) – Denmark to win or draw (1/2 with Coral)
James McCarthy hasn’t won the race to be fit for this tie and he joins Sean Maguire and Richard Keogh out on the sidelines. Along with long-term absentees, Jonathan Walters and Seamus Coleman, Martin O’Neil does not have a full strength side ahead of such a crucial game. Its scoring goals that will be his biggest concern as his men managed just 12 goals in their 10 qualification matches.
Denmark fared better in front of goal in the qualifiers, netting 20 in what was far from an easy group. Christian Eriksen was involved in more than half of those and alongside Yousef Poulsen and the in-form Nikolas Bendtner, the Danes can pack a fair punch. Age Hareide’s men aren’t scared of an away challenge either, their only defeat in the last six, a one goal defeat to an impressive Polish outfit. All things considered, there’s reason to think Denmark can do enough to avoid defeat here.
England v Brazil (20:00) – Brazil to win (31/40 with BetVictor)
Although both these sides topped their respective World Cup qualification groups, they could hardly have done it in more differing style. England plodded along with a distinct lack of excitement, rarely producing the sort of football that got the fans off their seats. Brazil on the other hand dominated in what is an incredibly tough group, scoring 41 goals in the process. The side we see now is miles ahead of the one that lost in a never to be forgotten 8-2 game to Germany in the last World Cup.
With the Brazilians now around the level you’d expect from them, this will be a very difficult game for an England squad missing several key players. The most critical absentee is Spurs striker Harry Kane who has been sensational form in 2017, scoring 36 goals for his club. He joins Harry Winks, Raheem Sterling, Jordan Henderson and Dele Alli on the sidelines. The visitors will boast the much stronger side on paper and we expect them to make it show.