WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS: Our football tipster The Ultra previews Sunday’s matches between LUXEMBOURG v REPUBLIC OF IRELAND, PORTUGAL v SERBIA and SPAIN v SWEDEN all with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
LUXEMBOURG V REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
7.45pm We start the final round of fixtures in the World Cup Qualifiers on Sunday and we have some very interesting markets on BETDAQ Betting Exchange. We start the evening in Group A where we have a massive game between Portugal and Serbia, but before we come to that game I’m going to take a look at Luxembourg v Republic of Ireland. With this being their last game in qualifying, there will be a lot of debate around whether or not Ireland are going in the right direction under Stephen Kenny. There was a huge debate around this on Irish TV and Twitter during the week too after the 0-0 draw with Portugal. Stephen Kenny has a huge volume of support from League of Ireland fans, but the reality is they will start this game 11 points behind Portugal and Serbia, and three behind Luxembourg. The question is; when will we next see Ireland at a major tournament?
Ireland might have a better chance of qualifying for the Euro’s given the qualification system there, and while they played very positively away against Portugal, let’s not forget they went backwards after that game to draw at home with Azerbaijan. I said prior to Thursday that Ireland love playing big sides as they can counter-attack and just sit back. They are playing nicely football than before, but is that really good enough? Luxembourg were able to beat them in Dublin, and Ireland look too short here at 2.24. This will be another very close game involving Ireland with very few chances – I wouldn’t be surprised to see another 0-0, and I would have Ireland much bigger in the betting. For all the promise they have shown, they still clearly struggle to create chances and score goals. I expect the manager to stay, but the squad is very limited at the moment and Ireland have a long road ahead.
The Ultra Says:
Two points lay (liability) Republic of Ireland to beat Luxembourg at 2.24 with BETDAQ Exchange.
You can view all markets here -> https://bit.ly/BDQLuxIre
PORTUGAL V SERBIA
7.45pm All eyes will be on Portugal v Serbia in Group A as we have a top of the table clash to decide the winner. With first spot qualifying and second having to play in the second round, there’s a lot on the line here. There’s a huge amount going on in the second round, and it’s going to be cut-throat football. For some sides, that was the best they could do and perhaps Serbia wouldn’t have expected to have a chance to finish first, but now that they have a chance they have to go for it. Given the goal difference, a draw is no good for Serbia here – they have to win. Portugal would have been very disappointed to only draw 0-0 with the Republic of Ireland on Thursday in a very boring game, but to be honest it doesn’t change much going into this game – they always needed to avoid defeat here to finish top.
The sides played out a 2-2 draw when Serbia had home advantage in March, with Portugal throwing away a 2-0 lead. Portugal have put the smaller sides to the sword, but given all their attacking talent, they don’t actually score many goals. They beat Azerbaijan 1-0 here and could only score twice across two games with Ireland. This will likely be a tight game again, with perhaps the only thing opening the game up will be Serbia needing to win. I would expect Serbia to not go all out attacking until the second half though, and we could easily see a 0-0 at the break here. Portugal look around the right price at 1.51 in my opinion – I wouldn’t be a backer at those odds, and under 2.5 goals looks the value option here at 2.0. Although I fully accept the fact that Serbia have to win, I don’t see them attacking from the start here. Portugal are rock solid at the back these days too, generally opting for defence over attack despite having the talent like Ronaldo up front. I’d have under 2.5 goals odds on here, but I’m also happy to keep stakes reasonably low to acknowledge the fact Serbia need to win.
The Ultra Says:
Two points win Under 2.5 goals at 2.0 with BETDAQ Exchange.
You can view all markets here -> https://bit.ly/BDQPorSrb
SPAIN V SWEDEN
7.45pm Next we move to Group B as Spain host Sweden in another match to decide who tops the Group. As I said above, there’s a lot of effort required in the second round and it really doesn’t look like a nice place to be – much like Serbia, I doubt Sweden would have thought they’d have much chance given the quality of Spain, but they can top the Group with a win here and they have to go for it. I have to say, I was shocked to see Georgia beat Sweden 2-0 on Thursday. They could have really put Spain under pressure heading into this game. Sweden were trading around 1.5 to win that game, so it wasn’t a complete shock betting wise, but it just means they have to win this game instead of being able to draw – they just made their task tonight a whole lot more difficult.
I think it’s fair to say that Spain have underperformed in this Group. They dropped points to Greece in March and then lost away from home against Sweden. They have been busy in-between qualifying with the Nations League Finals, and you can’t knock their performances against Italy and France in that competition. You get the feeling that Spain just turn up in the big games, and they were always just going through the motions in this Group – to be fair to them they didn’t really need to do anything else. They have left themselves with a pressure here, and I can see quite a cagey game here. I feel Spain look a little too short at 1.4, and I’m happy to stay away from those odds – I feel they’ll get the job done though as Sweden have been average away from home – they lost away to Greece prior to losing to Georgia on Thursday. This is a fascinating game, but it’s also one for small takes too – I like under 2.5 goals at 1.79 and Spain to grind out a 1-0 win perhaps.
The Ultra Says:
One point win Under 2.5 goals at 1.79 with BETDAQ Exchange.
You can view all markets here -> https://bit.ly/BDQSpiSwe
