Football - Euro 2012 Qualifiers

It’s a rather uninspiring set of matches on Tuesday to be frank, with the exception of seeing a lot of good Spanish players (hopefully) at Hampden on Tuesday. I’d hope to see Jack Wilshire playing for England against Montegnro.

There are always some mismatches with the Qualifiers and NORTHERN IRELAND against the Faroes is one of them.There’s a danger that they may play their reserves but even then I can’t see them wanting to throw away easy points in such a tough group. They won’t leak a goal if they can keep Italy out, and surely they should score one or two before 45 mins. Northern Ireland are 10/11 to win to nil, and that’s arguably too short, along with an HT/FT double.

For all that PORTUGAL managed to lose to Norway on the road 2 games ago, Iceland look severely overmatched and they are surely worth a small poke to win both halves, with a decent range of prices on offer.

In a more even match - up, it might not seem wise to back HOLLAND at 4/6 against a decent Sweden side after they struggled to beat Moldova on Friday, but they will be much stronger at home and can bank on Van Der Vaart, Van Bommel, Wesley Sneijder and namely Klaas Jan – Huntleaar to get them out of trouble if they need.

Slovakia will be a tricky test for IRELAND following a defeat to Russia, but the Slovaks lost 3-1 to Armenia last time out and may be there for the taking at odds against. Ireland were shocking against Russia but a sprinted comeback showed that was not their true showing and they should be given another chance.

France against Luxembourg is another mismatch, but so was France – Romania and Laurent Blanc’s side look to be setting themselves up to grind out victories, and maybe under 3.5 goals may be the way to go, because at 5/6 it’s much better than backing over 2.5 and France are hardly value to thrash teams now.

Scotland tried out a novel 4-6-0 formation against the Czech Republic on Friday night only to see it backfire horribly as they spent the entire evening on the back foot, failing to create a sniff of a chance against a team short of confidence following a home defeat to the Lithuanians. Faced with such pressure, inevitably a defensive error was drawn, and the Czechs enjoyed a thoroughly deserved 1-0 success. SPAIN must be licking their lips at the prospect of meeting such a side, and are surely worth a lump on as they will have the attacking strength to carve open opportunities. If Spain are sharp, they’ll score sooner rather than later so back them to lead at Half Time and the double result, because David Villa and Llorente are too short to trust with scoring.

Recommendations

Northern Ireland to beat the Faroes (4/11 Skybet, William Hill)

Northern Ireland Half/Time - Full/Time (10/11 Bet365, Paddy Power, Bwin)

Away Team (Northern Ireland) To Win To Nil (10/11 Bwin)

Portugal to win both halves against Iceland (12/5 Bwin)

Holland to beat Sweden (8/13 Unibet)

Ireland to beat Slovakia (12/5 Boylesports)

Under 3.5 goals in France v Luxemborg (5/6 Paddy Power)

Spain to beat Scotland (4/11 general)

Spain to win both halves against Scotland (12/5 Paddy Power)

Spain to lead at Half Time (20/21 Bet365)