INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLIES: Our football tipster The Ultra previews Saturday’s matches including REPUBLIC OF IRELAND v BELGIUM and ENGLAND v SWITZERLAND both with a recommended BETDAQ bet.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND V BELGIUM

5pm While we have some massive World Cup Qualifiers during this International break, it is a quiet International break with only a few competitive games. We’re left with a friendly fixture list to enjoy on Saturday on BETDAQ Betting Exchange! but we have a few interesting markets nonetheless. An International friendly fixture list like today doesn’t come around often now we have the Nations League. That has added some nice context to International breaks over the last few years, and we have saw how important it is for sides this week as they failed to get into the top two in their Group but still get to the Playoffs thanks to the Nations League. We start the day with Republic of Ireland hosting Belgium and this is a “glamour friendly” for the home side. They would have been pushing tickets sales, and it will be interesting to see can they fill the stadium as the Irish public have lost confidence in the side over the last few years. Irish football fans will say that Stephen Kenny is improving the side though, and they are a young team now.

The problem with friendlies is you can never tell the interest level from the big sides. There is multiple levels between the sides here, and if this was a competitive game it would be one way traffic for Belgium. However, what type of side they name here is definitely a worry along with their commitment. They might not get out of first gear, and they were unable to beat Wales in their final World Cup Qualifier Group game when they had nothing to play for either. Wales are a better side than Ireland, however you have to factor in that Ireland are more negative than Wales. Stephen Kenny tries to get his side to play attacking football, but it’s a long process of changing the cagey mindset. Belgium are worth backing at 1.53 in my opinion just in terms of class and how many levels above Ireland they are, however I’m going to look to the side markets for some extra value here. With friendlies I’m always happy to keep stakes reasonably low, and Draw/Belgium catches my eye in the Half-Time/Full-Time market. I can see Ireland sitting back and Belgium taking a while to get going but ultimately getting the job done in the second half. The 4.1 looks very appealing for a small investment.

The Ultra Says:
One point win Draw/Belgium Half-Time/Full-Time at 4.1 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.

You can view all markets here -> https://bit.ly/BDQIreBel

ENGLAND V SWITZERLAND

5.30pm We move to Wembley next as England host Switzerland. This isn’t quite a massive glamour friendly, but it’s an interesting game nonetheless and we might get to see some new England faces too. England fans will remember the Nations League third place Playoff when they lost on penalties, but England have improved a lot since then. Some England players come into this game under pressure – Harry Maguire is obviously having a terrible time at Manchester United at the moment and then Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford didn’t even make the squad! Rival football fans will no doubt be delighted to have as little Manchester United players as possible given their run of form this season. Despite this being a friendly and obviously we have to question how “up for it” both sides will be but this should be an excellent test for England. Switzerland topped their World Cup Qualifying Group and that involved Italy who had just won Euro 2020 so they come into the game in great form. I always feel with friendlies the home side have a slight edge given they have the crowd supporting them and spurring them on – that’s needed when you are looking for something to play for. You don’t see many players going through the pain barrier in friendlies – that’s why they brought in the Nations League because fans were losing interest in the International calendar.

Despite having the Wembley crowd behind them, the 1.72 on England does look a little too short for me. Switzerland are a top side, and I’d expect a closer game than those odds suggest. I have no doubt Southgate will be tempted to try some new tactics here and that could mean we have a disjointed performance at times too. I couldn’t put anyone off the England lay at the odds, but under 2.5 goals makes a lot of appeal at 1.61. These two played out a very boring 0-0 in the Nations League third place playoff and they have also had under 2.5 goals in the three meetings prior to that, including a 1-0 England win in a friendly. I can see a pretty cagey game here with both sides cancelling each other out – I wouldn’t even rule out a bet small on 0-0 in the Correct Score market but I’m happy with under 2.5 goals at the odds. England have been rock solid at the back under Southgate and I can’t see Switzerland making the game too open either, this could be a pretty boring game to be honest.

The Ultra Says:
Two points win Under 2.5 goals at 1.61 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.

You can view all markets here -> https://bit.ly/BDQEngSwi

NETHERLANDS V DENMARK

7.45pm We finish the evening in Amsterdam as the Netherlands host Denmark. While we could easily see a lack of goals in the Ireland and England games earlier in the evening, we usually get fireworks in the Netherlands games! We’ve had some thrillers at this stadium over the last few years, and it’s hard to see the Netherlands sitting back in a meaningless friendly. We could have a very entertaining end-to-end game here, but the market still has under 2.5 goals odds on. I was surprised to see those odds when I clicked into the market and over 2.5 goals definitely looks good value at anything over 2.05 in my opinion. Denmark came through their World Cup Qualifying Group with ease but they will want to bounce back from their surprising loss to Scotland in the final Group game. In fairness to them they had won their nine games before that and I’d say they just switched off in Scotland with nothing to play for. In that regard, this is the same situation in a friendly so I wouldn’t be laying the Netherlands here but it does help the goals market. I can’t see Denmark just coming here to defend.

The Netherlands were made to work hard in their World Cup Qualifying Group by Turkey, but they still topped the Group and scored plenty of goals too! They netted 33 goals in their ten games, and finished the Group with a goal difference of +25. I know I said it’s wise to keep stakes low in International friendly games, but over 2.5 goals trading odds against here is a very tempting bet indeed – I am very surprised to see it trading so high! The market is probably thinking we’ll have a close game here between two great sides and there’s a chance they could both cancel each other out. I understand the thinking behind that, but I just can’t see either side playing a cagey game here. The Netherlands will definitely attack, and that should open up the game. I’m not going to go mad with the stakes given it is a friendly, but it is my most confident bet of the day.

The Ultra Says:
Three points win Over 2.5 goals at 2.05 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.

You can view all markets here -> https://bit.ly/BDQNetDen