Euro 2008 12 Sept

There’s a full set of qualifiers tonight but surprisingly there are not that many stand out bets to be had. There are a couple though that look interesting.

As usual, I have to oppose England. The bookies know that England have to win tonight to keep their qualifying hopes realistic but on all known form it is hard to fathom why they should be considered such hot favourites tonight. I suppose they looked okay against a below par Israel on Saturday but Steve McClaren’s side simply aren’t that good. Putting Heskey, a proven failure at international level, and Owen, who is not fully fit, up front against a decent side like Russia is a recipe for disaster. Gareth Barry will be sorely tested in midfield and with Russia’s coach Hiddink one of the best coaches in the world at working out tactics to exploit weak players, I think England could be in for a tough night. Sure, they have home advantage and are marginally the better side but I would make them around ½ goal favourites rather than the one goal favourites they are. A three point bet on Russia (+1) at 1.80 is a good bet.

[England won 3-0]

The only other bet I like is a speculative wager on Albania with a big start against Holland. The Dutch have been poor travellers in qualifying competitions for some time and only beat Albania 1-0 in Holland, so the 1 ½ goal handicap looks high. Albania have been climbing up the FIFA rankings rapidly in the last two years and while they are only 66th they have shown enough form to hold Bulgaria 0-0 away from home and will be happier in Tirana. Albania with a 1 ½ goal start are worth a one point bet at 1.96.

[Holland won 1-0[