World Cup
2012-09-07 - Russia vs Northern Ireland
A Sports Betting Pick by Lamps
Football : Internationals : World Cup Qualification
Friday 7th September - Kickoff 4:00pm
Russia
The Russians will be looking to win this qualification group and are handed a very kind starter to get things under way. On Friday they host Northern Ireland at the Stadion Lokomotiv and anything other than a home win will be a shock.
Fabio Capello is the new man in charge for Russia and he takes on a side that under performed at the Euros in the summer. Russia won their first game 4-1 over the Czechs only to take a single point from their next two and fail to qualify from the group.
Russia are a good side and have lost just 1 in the last 19 a 1-0 defeat to Greece in the Euro Finals. Specifically looking at home games, Russia have only won 1 of the last 3 however the 2 draws were in friendlies.
In qualification home games for the Euros this side were impressive winning 3 of their last 4 games having suffered a shock defeat to Slovakia in their first game. The Russians are strong defensively and not many score on their patch. This defence has kept 3 straight clean sheets in qualification games and against a poor Irish side that looks set to continue.
Northern Ireland
O'Neil's Ireland face another tough qualification group and start their campaign against a very god Russia side. The Irish have an awful record when it comes to qualifying and I can't see them causing any upsets in this group.
It's 8 games since their last win and that was only against the Faroe Islands back in August 2011. The win before that was a further 9 games against Slovenia in a 1-0 smash and grab performance. If Ireland are going to win this game they must replicate this type of performance and hope they can contain the hosts.
Away from home the side are poor travellers with 1 win in 15 and an alarming 11 defeats by an aggregate score of 31-2. In this run of 15 games Ireland have failed to score in 10 and none in their last 2 games. There is no doubt about it that Ireland are going to be under the cosh in Russia and a point looks highly unlikely.
Betting Verdict
The hosts go off 1.25 favourites here and that's no surprise given the statistics and the depth of talent in each squad. The Asian line is set at a high -1.75 goals meaning a 3 goal or more win is needed for a full payout.
Interestingly the sides haven't faced each other in recent times but that doesn't put me off backing the Russians. I'm going to take the Russians to win to nil here given the awful goal record away from home by Northern Ireland.
The Russian's should win and win well but 3 goals is asking a lot. For a decent price we should get a good run for our money here. Capello is a solid manager and is likely to perform a professional 2/3 nil win over the Irish on Friday.
Good Luck
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Russia 2-0 N.Ireland
BEST BETTING TIP :
Take Russia to Win to Nil at 2.00
