THE INTERNATIONAL BREAK So we take another break from the club football scene as we turn our attention to the World Cup Qualifiers. Plenty of interest for the Home Nations over the next few days, as well as a couple of games between some of the world’s heavyweights. Let’s look ahead to what’s in store this Thursday.
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Ireland v Georgia
7.45pm Thursday Here we go again with Georgia. They seem to be in Ireland’s group for every qualifying campaign over the past few tournaments. Luckily Ireland have a very good record against them, only losing once and winning the rest of the games. It has never been too easy for the Irish though, often winning by one goal, basically just doing enough to get over the line.
Georgia can be a tricky side to play against. They always set up defensively against Ireland, so if you don’t score early it becomes extremely difficult to break them down. Even when they go a goal down, they rarely throw many men forward, which is why we have seen so many one goal wins. I see this game going quite similarly. I think Martin O’Neill’s men having enough to get by. With the like of Long and Walters in the team there will be a goal in the team at least. There is talk of an injury crisis, but when looking at the starting eleven I don’t think there will be that big a change from the starting side in the last couple of games in the Euros.
I can’t see Georgia grabbing a goal here, they just play in too negative of a style. They will be quite happy coming to Dublin for a 1-0 loss. Expect a comfortable enough evening for Ireland where they scrape through with a win scoring the bare minimum. It won’t be a fantastic watch but they will get the job done.
TONY’s BEST BET:
Back Ireland to win 1-0 at 4.8.
You can view all markets here -> http://bit.ly/BDQIreGeor
Austria v Wales
7.45pm Thursday This is a tricky game, and a very tricky group to call as well. Wales had an excellent campaign in the Euros, getting as far as the semi final. An incredible achievement for them. On the other side, Austria were possibly one of the most disappointing teams in the tournament. They came in as a dark horse, having played excellently in the qualifiers, but then failing to impress on the big stage.
That has been a trend for them over the past few years, but here we are again in the qualifying rounds. This is when Austria have played their best football. They will be very dangerous to come up against at home. There is some exciting players in the side, and they have an incredible talent down the middle in David Alaba. Wales are flying high after their achievements, but this is a totally new campaign and they need to get their focus right again.
I have a sneaky feeling Austria can turn the Welsh around playing at home. They are not as bad a team as they showed in France during the summer. They will really challenge to top this group and beating your competitors at home is focal to this, so expect them to be really up for this one.
TONY’s BEST BET:
Back Austria at 2.32.
You can view all markets here -> http://bit.ly/BDQAustWal
Italy v Spain
7.45pm Thursday This is the highlight of the International break without doubt. Two European giants. Both sides are moving on after the Euros with new managers. For Spain this was a choice that was made in order to freshen things up after a couple of disappointing tournament, which followed their spell of dominance. For Italy, they were forced to move on as Conte moved to pastures anew in the Premier League. Both sides will be looking to top the group, you can expect a couple of great games.
Look for Spain to grab the initiative here. They will want to show they have moved on from their EURO 2016 campaign and to prove they still have a bright future in terms of challenging for trophies. There is still so much talent in the side, a great mixture of experience and youth. Italy weren’t expected to do much in the Euros, but went on to the Quarter Finals, beating Spain in the last 16. This will be another motivation for the Spanish to go out for the win in Italy’s back yard.
TONY’s BEST BET:
Back Spain at 2.74.
You can view all markets here -> http://bit.ly/BDQItaSpain
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