WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS: Our football tipster The Ultra previews Tuesday’s matches between POLAND v SWEDEN and PORTUGAL v NORTH MACEDONIA both with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
POLAND V SWEDEN
7.45pm It’s Finals time at the World Cup Qualifiers on Tuesday and we have two fantastic games to enjoy on BETDAQ Betting Exchange. We would have had three fixtures, but Ukraine had to request their semi-final against Scotland was postponed to a later date. We could see a Wales v Scotland Final there, but we start the evening with Poland against Sweden. Poland received a bye in the last stage as they were supposed to play Russia before UEFA kicked them out while Sweden had to go to extra time to beat Czech Republic on Thursday night. Poland’s level has definitely dropped a little in recent years, but they are still a good side. They finished second in a Group behind England which was realistically the best result they could have hoped for. They’re drop in form was highlighted at Euro 2020 as they left without winning a game in a Group with Sweden, Spain and Slovakia. Sweden won 3-2 in a very entertaining game when the sides met in that Group, although obviously home advantage comes into it here and Poland are the favourites here.
Although Poland come into the game as favourites, we do have a pretty open market here. Sweden had to grind out a win against Czech Republic on Thursday but as I highlighted in my preview the Czech Republic are a pretty solid side at the moment. That was always going to be a close game, and I can see this being a very close game here too. We had five goals between the sides at the Euros, but I can’t see many goals here. I think we’ll have a pretty cagey game and it isn’t a surprise to see under 2.5 goals trading around 1.6. I was very tempted, but it’s hard to argue that it should be a lot shorter than 1.6 so I’m going to pass on that one. I do feel Poland are a little short around the 2.48 mark because they just haven’t been impressive in a while. The draw is a tempting bet, but I’d like to have the Sweden win on my side too so I’m happy to go with the Poland lay at 2.48 – they just haven’t done enough to justify the odds for me and I expect a very close game here – Sweden can go very close to winning in my opinion.
The Ultra Says:
Two points lay (liability) Poland to beat Sweden at 2.48 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://bit.ly/BDQPolSwe
PORTUGAL V NORTH MACEDONIA
7.45pm Next we have Portugal taking on North Macedonia. This could have been a European blockbuster tie if Italy beat North Macedonia on Thursday but we had the shock of all shocks as North Macedonia found an injury time winner in Italy. You have to hand it to North Macedonia – that was an incredible achievement and we saw some amazing scenes on the touchline. I have to say it was a shock given how limited North Macedonia looked at Euro 2020 but credit where credit is due – they dug in and managed to stop Italy from scoring and then took their chance. Portugal would have been delighted to see that result, and they won’t be taking this fixture lightly even if they were thinking about it. Obviously this is a huge game to get to the World Cup so I doubt any side would take it lightly, but surely Italy just thought they could go through the motions and beat North Macedonia. Portugal are trading more or less the same price as Italy at 1.22, to be honest it’s hard to see anything bar a Portugal win but the Italy result would put you off lumping on 1.22!
I don’t back odds like that, so I’m happy to look around the side markets for some value. Portugal enjoyed a 3-1 win over Turkey on Thursday night but it was tense enough with only one goal between the sides until stoppage time when Turkey pulled one back in the 65th minute. Given how successful North Macedonia were sitting with XI men behind the ball against Italy, it’s hard to see them employing different tactics here. They are just going to defend for their lives and it’ll be completely up to Portugal to make the running here. Sometimes in the past Portugal have struggled in those situations, and one thing you’d say about them is they have hardly been scoring goals for fun lately. The 0-0 draw with Ireland in the Group stage stands out to be honest, especially when a win would have put them through and they wouldn’t even be here. I think Portugal will grind out a win but it won’t be pretty or easy, and under 2.5 goals looks nice value at 2.18 – I feel this should be closer to 2.0 and I can see a very cagey game.
The Ultra Says:
Three points win Under 2.5 goals at 2.18 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://bit.ly/BDQPorMac
