Saturday Euro WC Qualifiers – 3 Value Bets To Take

Saturday European FIFA World Cup qualifiers will be a mixed bag. Some games are mismatches on paper, while others are likely to go down to the wire. Both of these categories of fixtures offer value to punters.

Finland v Ukraine

Ukraine have proven to be consistently inconsistent in recent matches. A 2-2 draw with Kazakhstan on 1 September was followed up with 1-1 draws against France and the Czech Republic within the ensuing week. While all three fixtures ended in draws during the last international break, the quality of their opponents varied vastly.

Finland, against whom Ukraine also drew their last fixture, beat Kazakhstan 1-0, but lost 2-0 to France. There is thus not much to separate the teams on paper.

Ukraine are 27th in the FIFA World Rankings and Finland 55th, but Finland have home advantage for this fixture. In addition, Ukraine are adjusting to life after recently departed head coach Andriy Shevchenko, with Oleksandr Petrakov still on caretaker duty. On balance, this clash in Helsinki looks likely to serve up another draw.

Andorra v England

The last time England faced Andorra, Gareth Southgate’s men ran out 4-0 winners. There is little reason to believe they will fall short of repeating the feat.

With an experimental side, England enjoyed 89% of the possession and had 20 shots at goal to Andorra’s one. They were unlucky not to have another goal, as Reece James hit the bar early in the second half.

England have had more time to mull over their Euro 2020 disappointment and are likely to grow from strength to strength. At the time of writing, punters can get roughly even money on a third straight England win by over three goals against Andorra and this looks a shrewd bet.

Scotland v Israel

Israel’s last match against Scotland ended in a 1-1 draw. Since then, Israel have beaten Moldova 4-1, Montenegro 3-1, Faroe Islands 4-0 and Austria 5-2. However, they most recently suffered a humiliating 5-0 defeat to Denmark and were also beaten 4-0 by Portugal.

The trend appears to be that Israel sweep aside opponents they are expected to have the firepower to compete with, but struggle against the best sides. Scotland are not one of the very top sides in the world, but they are 35 FIFA World Ranking places ahead of Israel and on home soil at Hampden Park. However, given Israel’s recent good form, the hosts cannot afford to take victory for granted. Their own results have been patchy.

Another draw is likely in this match. If you bet on a draw in both this fixture and Finland v Ukraine, it will likely only take one correct prediction to turn a profit.