OK , I know, scratching around for a headline and that was the best I could come up with.
Three solid bets today, first up is Hungary, recent results have not been good, but they have named a strong squad to face New Zealand, who have endured a 45 hour (!) journey, just to get here. Coach admits the players are tired and that jet lag will be a big problem, they are playing 4 matches on a european tour, the last of which is against Brasil and that will be the game they will try to peak for.
The great distances they have to travel make life very difficult, having played only 2 home games in almost 4 years, it's a long way to go for a friendly. New Zealand are 118 on FIFA world rankings, alongside India and Barbados and below such footballing giants as, Palestine and Hong Kong. Looks like everything is in favour of Hungary, ranked over 40 places higher.
I really like the "over" option in the Belgium- Turkey match taking place in Genk, where there is a large Turkish population, so support will be "hot", as usual. The visitors have named an attacking formation, both teams have had trouble keeping a clean sheet and two years ago this fixture produced 5 goals. A similar result could be on the cards tonight.
Finally, Republic of Ireland have named a very strong squad for the visit of Chile. This will be the final game of the season for the Irish and coach, Steve Staunton, will be looking to build on the recent 3-0 demolition of Sweden, before the build up to Euro 2008 begins in earnest. Very impressive at home, only Italy have won in Ireland in last 3 years and that includes visits by, Brasil, CzechRepublic,Croatia and Sweden.
Chile are ranked some 33 places lower by FIFA and are poor travellers, boasting only two draws and six defeats in last eight away ties. They have played only two, low key, "b" friendlies with New Zealand since October and arrive with a VERY inexperienced squad, only a handful have made 5 or more appearances for their country. A home win for me.
4 points Republic of Ireland -1/2 1.80 asian line
4 points Belgiun-Turkey over 2.25 goals 2.085 asian line
3 points Hungary -1 goal 1.86 asian line
Good Luck.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment