NATIONS LEAGUE: The Ultra previews Saturday’s Nations League games between NORTHERN IRELAND v KOSOVO and SCOTLAND v REPUBLIC OF IRELAND both with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
NORTHERN IRELAND V KOSOVO
5pm We’ve had some real glamorous Nations League clashes this week, but Saturday evening on BETDAQ Betting Exchange is all about the lower Groups and hoe competitive things are! All eyes will be on Scotland v Republic of Ireland later, but we start the evening in Group C2 as Northern Ireland host Kosovo – Northern Ireland, believe it or not, are still waiting for their first ever win in the Nations League. They started with zero point from four games when there was no relegation, then got relegated from a B Group in 2019/20 with only two draws from their six games and now here they are battling to avoid relegation in a C Group! At the moment they have the same amount of points as Cyprus who currently sit bottom of the Group, it’s actually tricky to call who goes down but a huge amount depends on this result. Northern Ireland are away to Greece on the final matchday, essentially this fixture is their chance to stay up. Cyprus also have to play Kosovo, but they are away in their final Group game. It’s hard to know what to expect because apart from two draws between Northern Ireland and Cyprus everyone has beaten them.
We had a drama filled game when these sides met in June – Kosovo ran out 3-2 winners but they were controlling the game for a large part. They went 2-0 up inside the opening 20 minutes and then went into the final ten minutes 3-1 up. Northern Ireland scored to make the last five minutes nervy but they were largely on top for most of the game. Things will change here given Northern Ireland now have home advantage – the atmosphere is always good here and in general Northern Ireland tend to get all of their impressive results at home. It’s hard to back a side at 2.3 who have yet to win in the competition though, and we did land nice lays on them when they played Cyprus. Given Northern Ireland have been playing at a pretty low level in this competition, I feel the value call is a small lay at 2.3. I just expect a closer game than the odds suggest – Kosovo are clearly a limited side too, and this could easily be a cagey affair but I don’t see much between the sides. We’ll likely see a 0-0 or 1-1 draw.
The Ultra Says:
One point lay (liability) Northern Ireland to beat Kosovo at 2.3 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/NirKos
SCOTLAND V REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
7.45pm Next we move to Group B1 for a huge clash between Scotland and the Republic of Ireland. This game comes at a huge time for both sides when you look at the Group situation. Ireland have been wrote off recently but their 3-0 hammering of Scotland in Dublin has put new life into the squad. The fact remains that they are very limited side, and it will be interesting to see what they can do here away from home. Despite that 3-0 loss for Scotland, they sit top of the Group now after a massive 3-0 win over Ukraine on Wednesday night. Winning the Group and getting promoted to an A Group would be a massive achievement, and to be honest they’ll never have a better chance. To do that though, they need to win this game. They have play “away” to Ukraine in the final game, even though that’s in Poland it’s still Scotland not having their massive home support, and Ukraine also play Armenia on Saturday which they will be expected to win. The match odds at the time of writing are currently trading; Scotland 2.1, Republic of Ireland 4.1 and the draw is 3.3. They look about right to me – it’s hard to make the case that Scotland should be odds on but they deserve to be clear favourites. To sum up Ireland you’d say that they have shown signs that they are a good team, but those signs have been too few and far between. As I said above, this is a good test to actually see where they are – can they handle this Scottish side away from home? An intriguing game awaits.
From a betting point of view, I’m happy to skip the match odds market and look around the side markets for some value. Scotland look the right price to me. I have to say I was very surprised to see Ireland score three times when the sides met in June – it had been years since Ireland score that many times in a competitive game against decent opposition. Despite that result, I still feel we’ll see a cagey game here. Scotland will have to make the running and Ireland will be happy to sit back and attack on the counter when they get a chance. In fairness to Ireland, they play better football away from home when they have less of the ball and can employ those counter attacking tactics. Scotland will have to manage that, but I don’t see many goals here. The market agrees however, and Under 2.5 goals is trading 1.55! There isn’t much value left there, however I do like Both Teams Not To Score at 1.73. I really don’t see an end-to-end game here so I would expect to see one clean sheet. This should be a cracking game even if it’s a little cagey, but it’s one to keep stakes limited on too.
The Ultra Says:
One point win Both Teams Not To Score at 1.73 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/ScoIre
