The Euro 2012 International Qualifiers return tonight and
hopefully they’ll be as good as the action we were treated to on Friday – Many feel
the International break is a waste of time but we saw some very good attacking
performances and as the Racing Post’s Mark Langdon said, we could be in for a
real treat at Euro 2012.
Ireland are one of two home nations that have a realistic chance
of qualifying for Euro 2012 but there has to be a worry about how they’ll
perform away to Russia with several injuries.
Darren O'Dea and Stephen Kelly have been drafted into
Trapattoni's starting XI to replace the injured John O'Shea and the suspended
Sean St Ledger. The seriousness of their absence cannot be underestimated –Despite
many poking fun at O’Shea he got into the United team for many years as first
choice, while St Ledger is a key reason of Ireland’s run of 6 straight clean
sheets.
The replacements are Fulham’s full back Stephen Kelly and Leeds
loanee Darren O'Dea, which Is a big negative for such a tricky trip. Russia may
not be as good as some of their players suggest – The fact that 13 of their
last 15 games have seen under 2.5 goals points to this – But their home record
is pretty impeccable, having last been beaten at home in November 2010.
Many won’t be inspired by the misfiring trio of Pavel
Pogrebynak, Andrei Arshavin or Roman Pavluchenko, so it’s understandable that
some see the draw as value, but Ireland don’t make much appeal with injuries
and only Aiden McGeady knowing the plastic pitch having played for Spartak
Moscow.
This makes Russia the bet but the 3/4 available is just a
little short and the half time draw might be a better option, having copped in
4 of Russia’s last 5 games. Ireland have only had that result come in one of
their last 5 but this is a far harder test and the game may take some time to
fire up fully.
An altogether more confident shout is the improving France to
all but seal their place at Euro 2012 by beating Romania. The work that Laurent
Blanc has done since taking over from the hapless Raymond Domench is nothing
short of remarkable and it’s surprising that his team that haven’t attracted
more attention given their run of form.
France have 5 wins and one draw from their last 6 competitive
International matches, coming through tricky away assignments like Bosnia and
Albania on Friday, where they could have scored as much as 4 given some luck
with the post. The Frrench defence struggled throughout but they were without
centre-back Adil Rami, who was suspended but could be back to face Romania, and
they looks worth a shout at evens tonight.
Advice
2.5 pts France (20/21 VC Bet)
1 pt HT Draw in Russia v Ireland (11/10 Betfred)
No comments:
Post a Comment