Odds and Predictions

Here are some useful soccer betting tips. The 18 competitions since the inaugural event have produced just 7 different winners. Brazil have been the most successful nation, lifting the Cup 5 times, Italy have won 4 times, Germany 3 times, Argentina and Uruguay twice apiece, with England and France each boasting a single victory. Additionally, only 9 different nations have been losing finalists, Germany 4 times, Argentina, Brazil, Czechoslovakia, Holland, Hungary and Italy twice each, while France and Sweden have been runners-up on one occasion. With the breakup of Czechoslovakia this leaves a shortlist of 10 sides that have contested a World Cup final. Much has been made of the fact that no European team has won a World Cup hosted outside Europe. However, in the 8 non-European hosted tournaments, European teams have made the last 6 six finals. Furthermore, the June-July tournament will be played in the South African winter, so temperatures will at least be bearable for European players. However, it should be noted that Spain (a best-priced 6/1 to win the 2010 World Cup), Portugal (40/1), Russia (33/1) and Croatia (66/1) have never contested a World Cup final. Euro 2008 champions Spain seem very short considering a best finish of 4th place in 1950, while the others seem likely to qualify only via the playoffs. England have impressed in their qualification campaign to date, but also look short at 9/1. Germany (12/1), Italy (12/1) and Holland (14/1) offer better value than Spain or England.

The main competition seems likely to come from South America which has provided 9 of 18 World Cup winners. 5-times winners Brazil look worthy favourites at 5/1, but Argentina, who have made just 2 quarter-finals in the last 4 tournaments look woefully underpriced at 11/2.

Elsewhere, it is difficult to enthuse about CONCACAF and Oceania, with only the USA (125/1) and Mexico (150/1) likely to make any impact at all. Africa provides 6 teams, Ivory Coast (40/1), Nigeria (80/1), Ghana (80/1), Cameroon (100/1), hosts South Africa (150/1) and Egypt (200/1). It is surely too big an ask to expect South Africa to become the 6th hosts to lift the World Cup, but, as South Korea proved in 2002, experience of conditions and vocal home support may lead to better performances than expected. The Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Egypt, winners of the last two African Cup of Nations, all merit respect.

Asian sides seem up against it, though Japan (300/1) and South Korea (500/1) have reached the knockout phase in recent tournaments and look set to qualify for the 2010 finals. Its useful to look for soccer betting tips online before placing any bets.

The seasoned European campaigners look the best value, with Germany, 3-times winners and 4-times runners-up, the recommended bet at 12/1.

Responsible Betting

Responsible gamblers decide in advance how much time and money to devote to gambling, and, most importantly, when to stop. Gambling responsibly with money set aside for entertainment will keep gambling a fun hobby. Making the most of free bet offers and bookmakers’ sign-up offers will make punting money go further.

Related posts:

1. World Cup is back!! World Cup qualifiers are resuming this weekend, and I...
2. WC 2010 Qualifiers 29/3/2009: Spain vs Turkey Spain The European Champions have been foot perfect so...

Fatih Terim’s troops is having high confidence at this stage, after massively restricted Spain’s attacking style in their previous meeting last week.

Halil Altintop (Schalke), Selcuk Sahin (Fenerbache) and Yildiray Basturk (Stuttgart) remain out. Gokhan Zan of Besiktas and Servet Cetin also will not play.

Probable Starting XI: Demirel; Sarioglu, Kas, Emre Asik, Balta; Turan, Mehmet Aurelio, Akman, Tuncay Sanli; Senturk, Nihat.

Spain

Spain are all but home and hosed after a single goal win over Turkey who remain in the race 2nd place and will hope to qualify through the play offs.

Spain is still without Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas. Vicente del Bosque may come up with some changes, David Silva and Albert Riera may start on the flanks and as such it’ll be one up front.

Probable Starting XI: Casillas; Sergio Ramos, Marchena, Albiol, Capdevila; Marcos Senna; Silva, Xabi Alonso, Xavi, Riera; Villa/Torres.

Form Guide

Turkey
31 Mar 09 Spain (A) LOST 1-0 (WCQ)
11 Feb 09 Ivory Coast (H) DREW 1-1 (Friendly)
19 Nov 08 Austria (A) WON 4-2 (Friendly)
15 Oct 08 Estonia (A) DREW 0-0 (WCQ)
11 Oct 08 Bosnia (H) WON 2-1 (WCQ)
10 Sep 08 Belgium (H) DREW 1-1 (WCQ)

Spain
31 Mar 09 Turkey (H) WON 1-0 (WCQ)
11 Feb 09 England (H) WON 2-0 (Friendly)
19 Nov 08 Chile (H) WON 3-0 (Friendly)
15 Oct 08 Belgium (A) WON 2-1 (WCQ)
11 Oct 08 Estonia (A) WON 3-0 (WCQ)
10 Sep 08 Armenia (H) WON 4-0 (WCQ)

Prediction

Turkey may have lost in Madrid, but this time in Istanbul, I can’t see they will be beaten.

My prediction: TURKEY +0.5

Related posts:

1. WC 2010 Qualifiers 29/3/2009: Spain vs Turkey Spain The European Champions have been foot perfect so...
2. World Cup 2010 Qualifiers 2/4/2009: England vs Ukraine England Under Capello, England have the greatest season to any...

Under Capello, England have the greatest season to any World Cup qualifying campaign, by collecting maximum points on all four of their previous matches.

Carlton Cole and Emile Heskey are out, and Darren Bent will replace their spot. Aaron Lennon is set to be preferred to David Beckham on the right flank, whereas Steven Gerrard will continue on the left wing. Shaun Wright-Phillips is injured and unlikely to play.

Possible Starting XI: James, Cole, Ferdinand, Terry, Johnson, Gerrard, Lampard, Barry, Lennon, Rooney, Crouch.

Ukraine

Ukraine are yet to be beaten in Group 6, but have played one game lesser than England. They have seven points from three games, and drew with Croatia in their last game. They have conceded only one goal in Group 6 so far- the lowest of any of the teams in the group. Chelsea flop Andriy Shevchenko is still one of their most influential players, and he will be a real threat to England.

Artem Kravets, who is performing well in domestic and European competitions with Dynamo Kyiv, seems unlikely to play.

Possible Starting XI: Pyatov, Chygrynskiy, Shevchuk, Yarmash, Mykhalik, Levchenko, Kalynychenko, Tymoschuk, Aliyev, Voronin, Shevchenko.

Form Guide

England

England 4-0 Slovakia ( Emile Heskey, Wayne Rooney*2, Frank Lampard)
Spain 2-0 England
Germany 1-2 England ( Matthew Upson, John Terry)
Belarus 1-3 England ( Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney*2)
England 5-1 Kazakhstan ( Rio Ferdinand, OG, Wayne Rooney*2, Jermain Defoe)

Ukraine

Serbia 0-1 Ukraine (Sergei Nazarenko)
Slovakia 2-3 Ukraine (Sergej Valyaev,Yevhen Seleznyov,Artem Milevskiy)
Ukraine 1-0 Norway (Yevhen Seleznyov)
Ukraine 0-0 Croatia
Kazakhstan 1-3 Ukraine ( Sergei Nazarenko*2, Andriy Shevchenko)

Prediction

The host should be able to win comfortably to continue their winning momentum.

My prediction: ENGLAND -1 1/4

Related posts:

1. World Cup 2010 Qualifiers 2/4/2009: Turkey vs Spain Turkey Fatih Terim’s troops is having high confidence at this...
2. International Friendly 29/3/2009: England vs Slovakia England England are top of Group Six, share with...

Chile
Chile are currently in an automatic qualifying position and have the chance to consolidate when they visit bottom side Peru, who have won just once in their 10 group matches.

Prediction
I expect this could be tight and will go for a draw.

My prediction: PERU +1/4

Related posts:

1. WC 2010 Qualifiers 29/3/2009: Montenegro vs Italy Montenegro Montenegro managed two draws and a defeat, to...
2. WC 2010 Qualifiers 29/3/2009: Netherlands vs Scotland Netherlands The Dutch will be strong favourites as they...
3. WC 2010 Qualifiers 29/3/2009: Spain vs Turkey Spain The European Champions have been foot perfect so...

Netherlands

The Dutch will be strong favourites as they look to continue their early domination of the group by extending their 100% record. New trainer Bert van Marwijk has only won one friendly in four attempts, the last being a draw in Tunisia, so tonight’s game will be his biggest test so far.

Oranje are without Atletico Madrid defender John Heitinga, but Andre Ooijer has recovered from groin strain and is expected to play. Ryan Babel and Robin van Persie could start on the bench, depending on what the trainer decides is best.

Possible starting XI: Stekelenburg; Marcellis, Ooijer, Mathijsen, Van Bronckhorst; De Jong, Van Bommel; Kuyt, Van der Vaart, Robben; Huntelaar.

Scotland

Scotland were desperately unlucky not to qualify for Euro 2008 and are capable of raising their game against the big names. They will certainly need to on Saturday as the race for 2nd place in the group will remain wide open for some time.

The Scots were already without James McFadden, Shaun Maloney and Barry Robson. Now, Stephen McManus, Paul Hartley, David Weir, Kirk Broadfoot and Kris Commons have joined them, while Alan Hutton won’t be risked after a long lay-off.

Rangers’ Allan McGregor will start in goal instead of regular goalkeeper Craig Gordon, who’s struggling at Sunderland. Christophe Berra is likely to make his first start at centre-back, with full-back Steven Whittaker, also tipped to feature.

The midfield remains relatively strong. Skipper Barry Ferguson is likely to be joined by Scott Brown and Darren Fletcher as the Scots try to win their battles in the key area. Cardiff City’s Ross McCormack is a gamble which many are tipping Burley to take.

Possible Starting XI: McGregor; Whittaker, Caldwell, Berra, Naysmith; McCormack, Ferguson, Brown, Fletcher, Morrison; Miller.

Form Guide

Netherlands

Feb 11 Tunisia 1 – 1 Netherlands Friendly
Nov 19 Netherlands 3 – 1 Sweden Friendly
Oct 15 Norway 0 – 1 Netherlands WCQ
Oct 11 Netherlands 2 – 0 Iceland WCQ
Sep 10 Macedonia FYR 1 – 2 Netherlands WCQ

Scotland

Nov 19 Scotland 0 – 1 Argentina Friendly
Oct 11 Scotland 0 – 0 Norway WCQ
Sep 10 Iceland 1 – 2 Scotland WCQ
Sep 06 Macedonia FYR 1 – 0 Scotland WCQ
Aug 20 Scotland 0 – 0 Northern Ireland Friendly

Prediction

The Dutch obviously have a better players. In the last 8 matches between Netherlands and Scotland, only twice had the Dutch gone on to win by 2 goals or more.

My prediction: SCOTLAND +1 1/2

Related posts:

1. WC 2010 Qualifiers 29/3/2009: Spain vs Turkey Spain The European Champions have been foot perfect so...
2. WC 2010 Qualifiers 29/3/2009: Montenegro vs Italy Montenegro Montenegro managed two draws and a defeat, to...
3. WC 2010 Qualifiers 30/3/2009: Peru vs Chile Peru Peru find themselves rock-bottom of the South American World...

Montenegro

Montenegro managed two draws and a defeat, to sit in fourth position in Group 8. They will need to attain at least a result from this contest against the world champions to ensure that they give themselves half a chance of qualifying for next year’s World Cup.

First-choice central defenders Jovan Tanasijevic and Radoslav Batak will come back into the side. Roma striker Mirko Vucinic is suspended. Fiorentina frontman Stevan Jovetic hopefull can use all his experience picked up in the Italian Serie A to plot the downfall of the Italians. Rapid Bucharest’s Vladimir Bozovic, Sporting Lisbon’s Simon Vukcevic and Rapid Vienna’s Branko Boskovic will all be influential figures in midfield.

Squad

Goalkeepers: Vukasin Poleksic (Debrecen), Mladen Bozovic (Partizan Belgrade)

Defenders: Savo Pavicevic (Energie Cottbus), Miodrag Dzudovic (Spartak Nalchik), Jovan Tanasijevic (Dynamo Moscow), Radoslav Batak (Anakaraspor), Dejan Ognjanovic (LKS Lodz), Marko Basa (Lokomotiv Moscow), Luka Pejovic (Mogren Budva), Elsad Zverotic (Luzerne)

Midfielders: Vladimir Bozovic (Rapid Bucharest), Mitar Novakovic (Amkar Perm), Milorad Pekovic (Meinz), Nikola Drincic (Amkar), Branko Boskovic (Rapid Vienna), Ivan Delic (Buducnost Podgorica), Simon Vukcevic (Sporting Lisbon)

Forwards: Stevan Jovetic (Fiorentina), Mirko Vucinic (AS Roma), Nikola Vujovic (Partizan Belgrade), Radomir Djalovic (Rapid Bucharest), Fatos Beciraj (Buducnost Podgorica)

Possible Starting XI: Poleksic; Basa, Tanasijevic, Batak, Pejovic; Vukcevic, Boskovic, Bozovic, Drincic; Jovetic, Djalovic.

Italy

Italy will bid to go one better than the 0-0 draw their rivals Ireland achieved on their visit to Montenegro. The Italians needed a last minute goal to win in Cyprus and struggled to a 2-1 home win over Saturday’s opponents so it may not be as straight forward as the betting suggests. The Azzurri have played four qualifiers thus far in Group 8, which they currently top with 10 points recorded. Having said this though, goal difference is all that separates them from the second-placed Ireland, who they will face next week. Three points against the Montenegrins will be absolutely crucial to their cause of topping this group.

The likes of Gennaro Gattuso, Simone Perrotta, Luca Toni and Alberto Gilardino are all struggling with injury, whilst Del Piero and Cassano were snubbed by Lippi yet again. With a lack of experience up front for the Azzurri, it will be interesting to see who lines up in attack, as Vincenzo Iaquinta looks to be the frontrunner at present to head the frontline.

Squad

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Marco Amelia (Palermo), Morgan De Sanctis (Galatasaray)

Defenders: Salvatore Bocchetti (Genoa), Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Andrea Dossena (Liverpool), Alessandro Gamberini (Fiorentina), Fabio Grosso (Olympique Lyon), Marco Motta (Roma), Gianluca Zambrotta (Milan)

Midfielders: Matteo Brighi (Roma), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Pasquale Foggia (Lazio), Riccardo Montolivo (Fiorentina), Angelo Palombo (Sampdoria), Simone Pepe (Udinese), Andrea Pirlo (Milan)

Forwards: Antonio Di Natale (Udinese), Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus), Giampaolo Pazzini (Sampdoria), Fabio Quagliarella (Udinese), Giuseppe Rossi (Villarreal)

Possible Starting XI: Buffon; Zambrotta, Cannavaro, Chiellini, Grosso; De Rossi, Pirlo, Palombo; Di Natale, Quagliarella; Iaquinta.

Form Guide

Montenegro
November 19 v Macedonia (H)     WON 2-1
October 15 v Italy (A)                 LOST 1-2
September 10 v Ireland (H)          DREW 0-0
September 6 v Bulgaria (H)          DREW 2-2
August 20 v Hungary (A)             DREW 3-3

Italy
February 10 v Brazil (N)              LOST 0-2
November 19 v Greece (A)          DREW 1-1
October 15 v Montenegro (H)      WON 2-1
October 11 v Bulgaria (A)            DREW 0-0
September 10 v Georgia (H)         WON 2-0

Prediction

Obviously the Italians are without several key players for the qualifier; however, they are the reigning world champions, meaning that they should be able to edge out strong competition from the new boys of world football.

My prediction:ITALY -3/4

Related posts:

1. WC 2010 Qualifiers 29/3/2009: Spain vs Turkey Spain The European Champions have been foot perfect so...
2. WC 2010 Qualifiers 29/3/2009: Netherlands vs Scotland Netherlands The Dutch will be strong favourites as they...
3. WC 2010 Qualifiers 30/3/2009: Peru vs Chile Peru Peru find themselves rock-bottom of the South American World...

Spain

The European Champions have been foot perfect so far and have now won 18 of their last 19 games, the exception being in the European Championships when the drew with Italy, but won on penalties. Not since November 2006 have La Furia Roja been on the receiving end of defeat, meaning that they have gone a remarkable 29 games unbeaten.

Andres Iniesta is out of action due to injury, while Francesc Fabregas remains sidelined as well. Typically the Furia Roja operate with a four man defence, but what’s ahead of that is anyone’s guess: Marcos Senna could play in a holding role behind a four-man inventive force and a forward, or David Villa could partner Fernando Torres up front.

Probable Starting XI: Casillas; Sergio Ramos, Marchena, Albiol, Capdevila; Marcos Senna; Cazorla, Xabi Alonso, Xavi, Silva; Villa.

Turkey

The Turks look to be in a battle with Belgium and Bosnia for a play off spot and they will be kicking themselves for being held 0-0 in Estonia in their last qualifier. They can be a dangerous side on their day and though it’s almost impossible to oppose Spain in recent times, the Turks may make a decent game of it.

Servet Cetin is absent in central defence. Halil Altintop, Yildiray Basturk, Selcuk Sahin and Gokhan Zan are all out too.

Probable Starting XI: Demirel; Sarioglu, Kas, Emre Asik, Balta; Turan, Mehmet Aurelio, Akman, Tuncay Sanli; Senturk, Nihat.

Form Guide

Spain

11 Feb 09 England (H) WON 2-0 (Friendly)
19 Nov 08 Chile (H) WON 3-0 (Friendly)
15 Oct 08 Belgium (A) WON 2-1 (WCQ)
11 Oct 08 Estonia (A) WON 3-0 (WCQ)
10 Sep 08 Armenia (H) WON 4-0 (WCQ)

Turkey

11 Feb 09 Ivory Coast (H) DREW 1-1 (Friendly)
19 Nov 08 Austria (A) WON 4-2 (Friendly)
15 Oct 08 Estonia (A) DREW 0-0 (WCQ)
11 Oct 08 Bosnia (H) WON 2-1 (WCQ)
10 Sep 08 Belgium (H) DREW 1-1 (WCQ)

Prediction

Spain are favourites to overcome Turkey, but with key playmaker Andres Iniesta absent, anything can happen…

My prediction: SPAIN +1 1/4

Related posts:

1. World Cup 2010 Qualifiers 2/4/2009: Turkey vs Spain Turkey Fatih Terim’s troops is having high confidence at this...
2. WC 2010 Qualifiers 29/3/2009: Netherlands vs Scotland Netherlands The Dutch will be strong favourites as they...
3. WC 2010 Qualifiers 29/3/2009: Montenegro vs Italy Montenegro Montenegro managed two draws and a defeat, to...

In CONMEBOL qualification in South America, Argentina face off with Venezuela before Brazil travel to Ecuador this weekend.

And also in Africa, the home of World Cup 2010, Nigeria will visit Mozambique and Egypt’s welcoming Zambia. North and Central America’s CONCACAF qualification sees United States visit El Salvador and Mexico face Costa Rica to get things started.

Those are pretty much the highlights of what will be happening this weekend in the World Cup 2010 Qualification.

Which match you would love me to post the analysis and predictions? Leave your comments….

Related posts:

1. World Cup and Soccer Betting Tips The 2010 World Cup is the 19th FIFA-organised tournament, scheduled...
2. WC 2010 Qualifiers 29/3/2009: Montenegro vs Italy Montenegro Montenegro managed two draws and a defeat, to...