NATIONS LEAGUE: The Ultra previews Sunday’s matches between NORTHERN IRELAND v CYPRUS and SPAIN v CZECH REPUBLIC both with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
NORTHERN IRELAND V CYPRUS
2pm We’re closing in on the end of this International break on BETDAQ Betting Exchange, but we have another two very interesting markets on Sunday. We start the day with Northern Ireland hosting Cyprus in Group C2. It’s hard to believe that Northern Ireland are still waiting for their first ever Nations League win, but the market makes them odds on to achieve that here! They are trading 1.6 at the time of writing, and serious questions will have to be asked if they can’t beat Cyprus with home advantage. Given the way this Group has already gone, this will be the game that decided relegation. These two sides played out a boring 0-0 a week ago – Northern Ireland will say they had most of the ball and were the better team, but there really wasn’t much in it. We all know that Northern Ireland are a much better side with home advantage compared to away from home, and you would have to expect that natural improvement here. Despite having home advantage, I can’t see Northern Ireland winning easily here. Cyprus are going to put XI men behind the ball and Northern Ireland are going to have to work very hard to win. I know this is a drop in class for Northern Ireland compared to their other Nations League games, but I can’t take 1.6 on a side who has yet to win in the competition going back to 2018.
I would have said that a C Group would be Northern Ireland’s level but there is a good chance they will get relegated here. A loss here would certainly do that, and even a draw would leave the door open. From that point of view, this is a must win game for the hosts. As I said above, I do feel that Northern Ireland are the better side here but I don’t fancy backing them at 1.6. I’m happy to leave the match odds market alone here and focus on the goals market for some value. We didn’t have a lot of chances in the first meeting between the sides, and given the lack of creativity between both sides I can see another very cagey game here. I expect Cyprus to be very negative, and it will be up to Northern Ireland to make the running here. I actually wouldn’t be surprised to see another 0-0, but under 2.5 goals stands out at 1.71. I was very surprised when I clicked into the market to check the odds to see it trading that high – I was expecting closer to 1.5! I feel this is very close to a Max Bet level – I wouldn’t recommend a Max Bet on International football, but I would rate this bet as good as the Republic of Ireland lay against Ukraine earlier in the week. Four points feels right.
The Ultra Says:
Four points win Under 2.5 goals at 1.71 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/NirCyp
SPAIN V CZECH REPUBLIC
7.45pm Next we move to Group A2 where we have a fascinating situation. This has been a very entertaining Group so far, and this is a big game looking at the table. As it stands, Portugal top the Group with seven points, Spain are in second with five and Czech Republic are only a point behind them in third. Switzerland have been the whipping boys in this Group with three losses from their three games. Spain will be hoping that Switzerland can take points off Portugal tonight because they have home advantage, and the market is very confident on a Spanish win here. Spain are trading as short as 1.34 to win, which is the third shortest price of the day – only sides facing Gibraltar and San Marino are trading shorter! Although Spain should really get the job done here, I wouldn’t be rushing to lump on at 1.34 – in my opinion that isn’t even a price to include in a BETDAQ Multiple today! Spain made hard work of getting draw away from home against the Czech Republic a few days ago, needing a 90th minute equaliser for a 2-2 draw. I think it’s fair to say that Spain haven’t really been firing on this International break, and everything has looked laboured. As I said about France the other day, perhaps it’s a case of the players just coming to the end of the season tired as most of them are elite players, but I also feel that’s an easy excuse. Whatever way you look at it, Spain just aren’t creating a huge volume of chances. The Portugal game was definitely a game of two halves with Portugal finishing very strongly and then the Czech Republic performance was pretty average too.
Spain took an early lead away to Switzerland and grinded out a 1-0 win. You have to feel that the Czech Republic will be very cagey here. Even the manager was saying they were a “bit defensive” when they had home advantage. Although the game still finished 2-2, you’d expect Czech Republic to put XI men behind the ball here. With Spain struggling to create a lot of chances, I feel they’ll have to work very hard to win here and really have to grind out a result. That’s why I feel the 1.34 is way too short, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see 0-0 at half-time here. From that point of view, Spain could be a nice lay for a trade, but I’m going to focus on the goals market here. Under 2.5 goals is trading 2.2 and that looks a very nice price. I know we saw four goals between the sides a few days ago, but I feel we’ll have a totally different game here. Czech Republic won’t give anything away, and they will 100% be playing for a draw here. Spain need to create more in my opinion, they’ll be lacklustre in front of goal and the unders is worth backing here.
The Ultra Says:
Two points win Under 2.5 goals at 2.2 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/SpaCze
