Internationals 7 Sept

World Cup qualifiers are generally not a good betting medium because it is rare that teams care about how far they win by - three points is always the main aim of any side. This is bad for Asian handicap bettors, although it is good for those betting outright on the 1x2 handicap.

Gamble of the week has been Turkey, who have been bet from an opening price of 3.20 to 2.40 as their opponents, Ukraine, have already qualified for the World Cup. The value has now gone and with Turkey having some serious injury problems it is probably not the greatest bet of all time, even if you are on at 3.20.

Best bet of the night is to take Switzerland to beat Cyprus, to cover a 3/4 goal handicap. My spy in Cyprus tells me that the national side are getting worse by the month and their 1-0 loss to Switzerland in Zurich was a fluke result. The Swiss need a good result here after the 1-1 draw with Israel at the weekend and they meet a Cypriot side that has managed four points in 7 World Cup qualifying games, all of them achieved against the Faroe Islands. The 3/4 goal handicap looks too small and Switzerland are worth a two point bet at 1.78

I have no other recommendations for bets tonight as I won't be risking my own money on any other games and don't want to steer you in the wrong direction just for the sake of advising a bet. Scotland look possible with a 3/4 goal start in Norway as they looked a much better side at the weekend against Italy than they have done for some time.

England don't seem to know what formation they should play and although the Northern Irish are hopeless, it would be no surprise to see Ericsson's side fail to cover the 1 3/4 goal handicap.