A GARETH BALE-LESS Wales face a huge game in Prague in a World Cup qualifier against the Czech Republic on Friday night.
The Welsh are level on points with the Czechs in Group E, but have a major advantage having played a game less.
However, Wales will have to do it without their talisman Bale who is injured, although manager Robert Page will at least be able to call on Juventus midfielder Aron Ramsay for the first time in the qualifiers.
The Czechs have problems too and have lost Vladimir Coufal, Lukas Masopust, Petr Sevcik and Jan Bori in their squad.
Both sides were at the Euros and both got past the group stages, with the Czechs excelling by reaching the quarter-finals before finding Denmark too hot to handle.
It's a must-not-lose game for the Welsh, with the Czechs knowing anything other than a win will put them at a huge disadvantage in the race for a play-off spot behind runaway group leaders Belgium.
How the bookies view it
The Czechs are odds-on everywhere and the best you will get on them is 10/13 on SBK. Wales can be backed at 19/4 with Unibet and the draw is 27/10 with the same firm.
Recent head to head
Wales won the first fixture in Cardiff thanks to a late goal from Daniel James in a game where both sides were reduced to ten men as you can see below.
Wales have never won in Czech Republic or Czechoslovakia in seven attempts.
Players to watch
Patrik Schick needs no introduction to Scotland fans having scored a double against them at the Euros at Hampden. He ended up with a hugely impressive five tournament goals and he's on six this season for Bayer Leverkusen. He's 17/10 with 10Bet to score anytime.
Harry Wilson has already scored three goals for Fulham this season and will likely play off the lone striker for Wales. He could be value at 9/2 with bet365 to score anytime.
Anything else catch the eye?
There's unlikely to be many goals in Prague – neither team are prolific and it could be very tight with maybe no more than a goal in it. The Czechs' need is greater than Wales though and the absence of Bale might just push them over the line.
Wales couldn't beat Estonia at home and that was with Bale and they needed a hat-trick from him, including two penalties and an injury time winner to beat Belarus. They may well fall short here against a pumped-up Czechs, who proved during the Euros they can be decent.
The hosts are too short to back odds-on so fotr value, how about the Czechs to win by one goal at 5/2 with SportNation and don't be surprised if that man Schick scores it.
This World Cup match between Czech Republic and Wales will be played on Oct 8, 2021 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Czech Republic vs Wales prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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