France will be looking to stay perfect in the European Championship qualifiers as they host Gibraltar in a Group B fixture on Saturday. The French have eased past everyone in the group and having triumphed 3-0 in the reverse fixture, could be set for another comfortable victory in this one.
France have already qualified for next year’s tournament in Germany and are now looking to end the qualifying campaign with a perfect record. They picked up a 2-1 victory over Netherlands in their previous fixture with Kylian Mbappe netting a brace.
The French did not just book a spot in the competition, they breezed through Group B, easing past most opponents. Having begun with a 4-0 victory over Netherlands in their opening fixture, Didier Deschamps’ men have continued to show their superior quality over everyone else in the group.
Blessed with players like Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud and Antoine Griezmann, France have obviously flexed their attacking muscles throughout the campaign. However, the defence has also caught the eye as they only conceded their first goal in the qualifiers in that win over Netherlands last time out.
Gibraltar are usually considered the weakest team in most groups and have been the whipping boys once again. In fact they have lost every single European qualifying fixture in their history, a run stretching back to 2014.
The Gibraltarians travel to the Allianz Riviera off the back of a 4-0 home defeat to Republic of Ireland in their previous qualifying fixture. They were no match for their opponents once again and finished without a single attempt target throughout the encounter.
That result highlights the nature of Gibraltar’s campaign as they have suffered some truly heavy defeats in Group B. Julio Ribas’ men have also failed to score a single goal in these qualifiers and often fail to register an attempt on target in most of their matches.
How the bookies view it
France have been installed as the overwhelming favourites with Coral offering odds of 1/200 for a home win. An unlikely victory for Gibraltar is valued at 150/1 by William Hill while a draw is set at odds of 70/1 by Paddy Power.
Head to head
There has been only one previous meeting between France and Gibraltar with the French claiming a 3-0 victory in the reverse fixture back in June.
Players to watch
Kylian Mbappe is among the leading scorers in these qualifiers having found the net eight times so far. There have been a few opening goals in that run and the PSG forward could be tipped to grab the first on Saturday at 15/8 with bet365.
France will also be looking to maintain the defensive record in the qualifiers with the likes of William Saliba, Dayot Upamecano and Jules Kounde in liberty to feature at the back. Given Gibraltar’s attacking problems, a win to nil could be on the cards at 1/7 with 10bet.
Anything else catch the eye?
With France opening the scoring early in the reverse fixture, a goal within the first 10 minutes could be on the cards at 11/8 by bet365. Olivier Giroud carries a major aerial presence for France and having scored a header in the reverse fixture, could be set for a repeat at 9/4 with bet365.
This Euro 2024 match between France and Gibraltar will be played on Nov 18, 2023 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best France vs Gibraltar prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
