WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS: Our football tipster The Ultra previews Friday’s games between MOLDOVA V SCOTLAND, NORTHERN IRELAND V LITHUANIA and ENGLAND V ALBANIA all with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
MOLDOVA V SCOTLAND
5pm We have another excellent night of World Cup Qualifier action on BETDAQ Betting Exchange on Friday! We start early in Group F as Scotland travel to take on Moldova. We saw some incredible scenes at Hampden Park when Scotland scored in the 94th minute to win the game against Israel, and they recorded another massive late goal with a 86th minute winner away to Faroe Islands a couple of days later. This squad has some incredible spirit, and now they are four points clear of Israel in the race for second going into the final week of games. First place is out of reach, but then again that was always the case when Denmark go into this Group. Israel have to play away to Austria later tonight, and although Austria have performed well below their level in this Group, that will be a very tricky game for Israel – Scotland will want to put the second place to bed tonight, because they have to play Denmark in the final Group game.
The good news for Scotland then is Denmark will be certain of first place, so perhaps we might see a weaker Denmark XI as they opt to test some younger players out. Either way, Scotland must win this game tonight. Although they recorded a huge late goal against Faroe Islands, it was disappointing that it took so long for them to score. This is another tricky away tie, and although Scotland will be fully expected to win – I wouldn’t exactly be lumping on them at 1.24. Moldova sit nailed to the bottom of the Group with only one point from eight games, and they are a weaker side than Faroe Islands at the moment. Scotland will win in my view, but they will have to grind it out again. This is a game for small stakes given the short price of Scotland, and under 2.5 goals is my pick at 2.07. Moldova will set up negatively, and Scotland will have to work hard to score. I can see a pretty quiet game and unders is the value call.
The Ultra Says:
One point win Under 2.5 goals at 2.07 with BETDAQ Exchange.
You can view all markets here -> https://bit.ly/BDQMolSco
NORTHERN IRELAND V LITHUANIA
7.45pm Next we move to Group C as Northern Ireland host Lithuania. Although this is essentially a meaningless game with both sides sitting at the bottom of the table, it’s a big game for Northern Ireland who need a morale boosting win looking to the future. It’s been a tough run for Northern Ireland of late – they finished last in Group B1 in the Nations League and got relegation to League C for the next Nations League, and while they were always going to struggle in this Group with Ital and Switzerland, they’ll still be disappointed with their performances to be honest. With the relegation from the Nations League too, they will likely keep bumping into tough Groups. They had a Group with Germany and the Netherlands for the Euro’s! They finished third in that Group and played very well, but it’s been downhill since then.
Lithuania are a very average side, and Northern Ireland should really be winning here. They have home advantage which is obviously a big boost for them as they tend to play much better in front of their own fans compared to away from home. They have two home games to finish, and hopefully they can end on a high – they do play Italy here in a few days though! Northern Ireland easily beat Lithuania 4-1 away from home, and apart from a 3-1 win over Bulgaria that came from nowhere, Lithuania have looked very average. They were in a weak Group in the Nations League too, and only won two games in a Group with Albania, Belarus and Kazakhstan. I’m going to keep stakes limited, but I’m happy to back Northern Ireland here at 1.46.
The Ultra Says:
Two points win Northern Ireland to beat Lithuania at 1.46 with BETDAQ Exchange.
You can view all markets here -> https://bit.ly/BDQNorLit
ENGLAND V ALBANIA
7.45pm We finish the evening with England hosting Albania with an easy home win expected. The market has England as short as 1.13 at the time of writing! That’s not the shortest price of the night however, as Hungary are 1.01 to beat San Marino in this Group. I don’t think it was ever in doubt that England would top Group I, their only danger was Poland and to be honest Poland aren’t on England’s level. England go into the final week of games with a three point advantage over Poland and they play Albania here and San Marino in a couple of days. I’m sure Southgate will want an easy win here so he can’t play some of the younger players away to San Marino on Monday. Albania won’t be a pushover here, despite what the market might say – they are third at the moment, only two points behind Poland and have played OK football.
Despite Albania not being a pushover, it’s extremely difficult to see England getting beaten here, or indeed failing to win. There’s a gulf in class here. England won 2-0 when Albania had home advantage, perhaps the biggest compliment is that England doubled that score away to Hungary. Albania are an improving side, and I feel that they can keep the score line respectable here. They topped their last Nations League Group, and they will go into Group B for the next Nations League. The market isn’t expecting Albania to score, with Both Teams Not To Score trading 1.36, and under 2.5 goals is my bet 2.33. Albania will set up very negatively here, and they are a well-drilled side. England will have to grind out a win in my opinion, and unders is worth a small bet.
The Ultra Says:
One point win Under 2.5 goals at 2.33 with BETDAQ Exchange.
You can view all markets here -> https://bit.ly/BDQEngAlb
