NATIONS LEAGUE: The Ultra previews BULGARIA v NORTHERN IRELAND and PORTUGAL v SCOTLAND both with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
BULGARIA V NORTHERN IRELAND
5pm The Nations League continues on Sunday as we begin Matchday 2 on BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE. Northern Ireland and Scotland are back in action with both sides having mixed fortunes on Thursday night. We kick off the action with Bulgaria hosting Northern Ireland – we have a very open betting heat with Bulgaria coming into the game as the favourites with home advantage. Bulgaria are 2.66 with Northern Ireland 3.05 and the draw is 2.95 at the time of writing. Northern Ireland haven’t had much success in the Nations League – indeed they had to wait until the third Nations League to actually win a game! They couldn’t have had a better start on Thursday though; they beat Luxembourg and now they sit top of the Group with Belarus and Bulgaria drawing. Obviously a side like Northern Ireland are going to struggle in Euro qualification so if they can get into the playoffs thanks to their Nations League ranking that’s going to be massive for them. They have always have trouble away from home in recent years however, and it will be interesting to see can they get a result here. On paper, Bulgaria would have been slight favourites to top this Group.
This should be a good test to see where Northern Ireland stand going forward. Bulgaria finished second in a C Group in the last Nations League, but they blew out in Euro 2024 qualifying and finished bottom of their Group which wasn’t difficult. You could argue that it was the easiest Group in qualifying as they didn’t have a major nation – Hungary and Serbia finished in the top two places. Obviously the major worry here from a Northern Ireland point of view is their away record – Bulgaria have been very tough to beat since getting a new manager but they have mainly been draws and low scoring affairs. Usually Northern Ireland like to focus on being solid at the back too – this game screams a lack of chances and goals in my opinion. Under 2.5 goals is trading 1.54 and that’s going to be a very popular bet. I would have it trading sub 1.5 to be honest, and it’s hard to see a better position in this game – I’m happy to take the 1.54 with a confident bet. I couldn’t put anyone off a small bet on 0-0 in the Correct Score market too.
The Ultra Says:
Three points win Under 2.5 goals at 1.54 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/BulNor
PORTUGAL V SCOTLAND
7.45pm We move to Group A1 to finish Sunday night as Portugal host Scotland. Everyone will be expecting a comfortable win for the home side here, and they opened their Nations League campaign with a win on Thursday at home to Croatia. Ronaldo scored his 900th career goal which is an immense achievement. To be honest, I thought he’d retire from International football after Euro 2024 but here we are – he’s still in incredible shape, but it does seem (from the outside) that he is going to struggle to let go and eventually retire from football. Scotland face a very difficult task here – this Group was always going to be very difficult and they would have started odds on to get relegated. They suffered a massive setback in their opening game when losing at home to Poland. That was heartbreak with a penalty for Poland deep into injury time – Poland have been reasonably weak lately too, and that was a massive chance for Scotland to notch up some points with home advantage. It’s no surprise that Portugal come into the game as the massive odds on favourites. Portugal are trading 1.24 with Scotland 16.5 and the draw is 6.8 at the time of writing.
That 1.24 is the second shortest price in the Nations League on Sunday – only Sweden, at home to Estonia, are trading shorter. Scotland have made a lot of improvement in recent years, but they have definitely been stronger when they’ve had home advantage. Portugal have always been very strong at home too – most of their setbacks in recent years have come away from home – they sailed through Euro 2024 qualifying but they needed the playoffs for the World Cup after a 0-0 draw away to Ireland for example which opened the door for Serbia to shock them in the final game. I don’t see Scotland causing an upset here, but the 1.24 definitely feels a little short – I wouldn’t be including in any weekend Acca anyway! I’m going to keep stakes small here, but Scotland at around 1.5 with a 2.5 goal handicap looks a nice position – they can keep the score line respectable.
The Ultra Says:
One point win Scotland +2.5 goals to beat Portugal at 1.5 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/PorSco
