England U-21s v Norway U-21s,
Saturday, 5pm, Sky Sports 2
NINE consecutive wins without shipping a goal leading into the tournament cannot be achieved easily at any level of the game.
Next up is this chance of redemption against Norway and Stuart Pearce's side should be raring to go after two victories over the Scandinavians in qualification.
An enormous aid to England's cause is the return from suspension of Danny Rose and Tom Ince, two of their leading lights during the qualification process, as is the expected recovery from injury of Wilfried Zaha.
These fresh inclusions should give England the creative impetus they were so badly lacking against the Italians.
Meanwhile, England's rock-solid defence – which was only breached by a free-kick in the opener – should hold up to Norway. The outsiders have gone six competitive games without a clean sheet, conceding two a match on average in the last three.
Recommended Bets
Back England U21 to win @ 1.84
Back England U21 to win 2-0 @ 9.8
Milesey (Betfair)
Resident football tipster at Scotland's most read newspaper, the Daily Record, for over 20 years and proud host of one the best betting communities on the web with daily betting tips.
Godoy Cruz vs Tigre
Saturday 22:10
Godoy Cruz welcome Tigre to the Estadio Malvinas Argentinas this Saturday evening hoping to make a last minute dash for the table’s summit, lying only five points off leaders Newell’s.
Godoy have had a solid Final campaign. After finishing a disappointing fourteenth in the Torneo Inicial, inexperienced coach Martin Palermo knew that improvements were needed in order to stand a chance of making the Championship Final at the end of June.
Sitting in fifth spot on 27 points, the men from Mendoza will not have given up the ghost on the hunt for first spot in the league – although being well aware that dropped points from their rivals are a necessity in the remaining three games.
Argentine stalwart Mauro Obolo has once again proved his worth this season at the age of 31. With ten goals this campaign, including six in the Torneo Final, the striker has played a huge role in the rise of the hosts since the turn of Christmas.
An ever present in the starting eleven, Obolo has been the standout force in the Tomba’s front line, with strike partner Facundo Castillon failing to improve on his lacklustre first season at Godoy.
Visitors Tigre have had an uninspiring campaign. After recording only one win in the Torneo Inicial, improvements have been seen in the second half of the season – but only minimal. Nestor Gorosito’s side sit fifteenth in the Torneo Final, with the only saving grace being that they are pretty much assured to avoid relegation.
After getting a few wins under their belt, the Matadores haven’t stood a chance against any of the Argentinean league’s bulls in recent weeks, recording only one win in seven outings – and it’s clear where the problem lies.
Conceding the most goals so far in the Torneo Final with 27, coupled with the 27 conceded in the Inicial, the visitors have leaked goals far too often at crucial stages of the season. With three games remaining, pride is at stake from the Victoria based side, as well as an incentive of a possible top half finish if they can claim seven points from their remaining fixtures.
Expect form to prevail in this fixture, seeing the home side romp to a comfortable victory up against a less than convincing back four.
Recommended Bet:
Back Godoy Cruz to win @ 1.89
Back over 3.5 goals @ 3.9
Milesey ( BETFAIR )
Switzerland v Cyprus
We’ll start with World Cup qualifying action, where Switzerland will be aiming to increase their lead at the top of Group E, when they take on Cyprus.
The Swiss will be hoping for an improvement on their showing against the same opponents back in March. That turned out to be a turgid affair, with the Swiss managing just three shots on target from 13 attempts, as they were held to a goalless draw in Cyprus.
That stalemate shouldn’t have come as too much of a surprise. Not if you consider that every one of the Swiss side’s group games have been low-scoring, with all five matches producing two goals or fewer. Plus the islanders had home advantage for that encounter.
Away from home though, the Cypriots appear to be considerably easier to open up. They have lost both their away games to date, going down 3-1 in Albania and, more recently, 2-1 in Slovenia. And now they must concede home advantage to a Swiss side who are currently Group E’s highest scorers, and who last year scored five goals in a friendly victory over Germany.
Recommended Bet: Back Over 2.5 Goals @ 1.75
Milesey ( betfair )
Corinthians last six matches have stayed Under 2.5 Goals. In Serie A it’s 11/13 low-scorers.
Portuguesa have seen two goals or fewer in 5/7 away games.
Recommended Bet: Back Under 2.5 Goals @ 1.96 in Corinthians v Portuguesa
Milesey
ICELAND: Division 1
Grindavik – Volsungur 5pm K/O
INPLAY over 3.5 goals and over 4.5 goals ( match goals )
Over 2.5 team goals – GRINDAVIK
Milesey