NATIONS LEAGUE: The Ultra previews ENGLAND v GREECE and FINLAND v REPUBLIC OF IRELAND both with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
ENGLAND V GREECE
7.45pm The Nations League returns on BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE this week! The action begins on Thursday, and while we do have some very interesting fixtures over the next few days, many football fans have been voicing that we’ve had two International breaks far too early in the domestic season. I have to say, I agree with that opinion – we’ve only had seven matchdays in the Premier League and only six in the Bundesliga for example. What will annoy fans even more is we have another one in a few weeks – mid November there is another Nations League before a huge break until the end of March. It feels like the three International breaks come too close together, and far too close to the start of the domestic season too – that needs to be looked at. Anyway, we kick things off on Thursday with a top of the table clash from Group B2 as England host Greece. I say it’s a top of the table clash – it is of course – but the reality is there is a huge gulf in class between England and the rest of the sides in Group B2. England shouldn’t be here, but Gareth Southgate saw the team relegated in the build-up to Euro 2024.
England come into the game as the red-hot favourites; the home win is trading as short as 1.29 with Greece 14.5 and the draw is 6.2 at the time of writing. That 1.29 is the second shortest price of all the games on Thursday night – that prize goes to Austria at home to Kazakhstan. Despite most football fans fully expecting an England win here, Greece have been improving in recent years. They won a C Group easily in the last Nations League, and they finished behind France and Netherlands in Euro 2024 to go to the playoffs – they were much better than the Republic of Ireland for example. They are still miles off England however, and I feel this is a case of how many goals can England score rather than will they win in my opinion. I would happily include England in any Acca leading into the weekend, but we’ll have to look around the side markets for some value here – England have been grinding out wins rather than blowing sides away lately, and I’m happy with a small bet on Under 2.5 goals at 2.08 here. England have had two 2-0 wins so far in this Nations League, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see another one.
The Ultra Says:
One point win Under 2.5 goals at 2.08 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/EngGre
FINLAND V REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
7.45pm We stay in Group B2 to finish Thursday night as Finland host Republic of Ireland. So far these two have been the whipping boys of this Group with both of them losing their opening two games. It’s fair to say that this fixture along with the return fixture when the two sides clash in Ireland will decide who gets relegated from this Group and who goes into the relegation playoffs which are new to the Nations League this time around. Not only have both sides lose their opening two games, neither of them could manage a goal! We have an exceptionally open betting heat with Finland coming into the game as the marginal favourites with home advantage. Finland are 2.92 with the Republic of Ireland 3.0 and the draw is also trading 3.0 at the time of writing. Obviously these two have been playing at a low level of football for a while – that has nearly always been the case for Finland but the Republic of Ireland have been in a downward spiral for a while now. They’ve been through different managers, but the reality is they are going through a time when their squad is exceptionally limited and there’s not much they can do.
There’s always a big debate with Ireland and the “brand of football” they play. The fans moan when it’s too direct and only long balls, but the squad doesn’t have the talent to play out from the back. When Stephen Kenny tried to do that, it didn’t bring results either. Now they have a manager who, by his own admission, doesn’t know much about the players which is an incredible thing to say. Finland finished with a point more than Ireland at the last Nations League from different Groups, and they had a much better Euro 2024 qualifying campaign too. They finished third behind Denmark and Slovenia with 18 points, while Ireland could only managed six in their Group and that was two wins over Gibraltar. I know we are dealing with limited sides here, but I feel the market is too open – I can’t have Ireland as short as 3.0 here and while we might see a boring draw without many chances, I’m happy to have the Finland win and the draw on my side here. The Ireland lay is a confident bet.
The Ultra Says:
Three points lay (liability) Republic of Ireland to beat Finland at 3.0 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/FinIre
