25th Mar 2011 | Football
International Football: Euro 2012 Qualifiers
England and Wales have hogged much of the headlines this week but Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have vital games of their own.
It’s a big weekend of international football as Wales host neighbours England at the Millennium Stadium in a vital Euro 2012 qualifier for Fabio Capello. It’s sure to be a big day for the home side as well, but with three defeats from three games, Wales are eyeing an upset rather than harbouring realistic hopes of making the finals. You can get 8/1 on Gary Speed claiming a remarkable three points in his first competitive game in charge of the the Dragons.
Capello would do well to cling on to his job in that scenario but the bookies don’t see the knives getting sharpened just yet with an England win nothing longer than 4/9. The draw is a 15/4 shot with VictorChandler. Not surprisingly the visitors dominate the first goalscorer market with Rooney leading the pack at 4/1 with bet365. After him are Bent and Defoe at 11/2, Crouch (5/1) and Carroll (6/1) with clear uncertainty over who who will start crowding the market. Lampard is almost certain to be the spearhead of England’s midfield and may therefore be the better punt at 7/1 with SkyBet. If you fancy the Welsh to cause a storm then Bellamy is 12/1 with PaddyPower.
Elsewhere Northern Ireland face their own crucial test when they travel to Serbia on Friday night. Interestingly, Nigel Worthington’s side are massive underdogs at 13/2 despite being a point ahead of their hosts with a game in hand. This can largely be seen as a reaction to their disappointing draw with the Faroe Islands and a hammering at the hands of Scotland. Serbia are seen as better than their results suggest and are 4/7 to win with the draw at 3/1.
The Republic of Ireland are looking like their usual competitive selves in qualifying where they currently sit second. They are just 1/2 shots to win on Saturday and keep the pressure up on group leaders Russia. Ireland’s opponents Macedonia are another away side to be given short shrift by the bookies at 15/2 to win.
Scotland are not in qualifying action this weekend but the Tartan Army are London bound to see their side play Brazil at the Emirates Stadium. International friendlies are notoriously difficult to predict but the bookies aren’t losing any sleep over this one with the South Americans priced at 2/5. Craig Levein’s troops are 8/1 to win and 15/4 to pinch a draw.
Odds correct at time of publishing: 16:39 25th Mar, 2011 but subject to change
