WALES made a great start to their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign by claiming an unlikely point in Croatia but that fine result will count for nothing if they fail to follow it up with a win over Latvia at home.
I tipped the Croats to be winning at half-time and full-time on Saturday but Nathan Broadhead ruined that in the last minute of stoppage time when he scored with the only Welsh attempt on target all day.
Holding the World Cup semi-finalists to a draw in Split was the perfect way to show the Welsh won't be a team in terminal decline after the retirement of talisman Gareth Bale.
But while there was plenty of team spirit and graft on show, Rob Page's side offered scant threat going forward and they will need to be more progressive at home to the Latvians.
Beating the likes of Latvia and Armenia at home will be key to Welsh hopes of fighting Turkey and Croatia for a top-two finish but it won't be an easy game.
The Latvians made Ireland sweat for a 3-2 friendly win in Dublin last week, with our man Mark cashing in by backing a narrow victory for Stephen Kenny's side.
Latvia also topped their Nations League group, albeit against modest opposition, and held Iceland to a 1-1 draw back in November so they could be a tough nut to crack.
How the bookies view it
Wales are heavy favourites with home advantage and their best price is just 2/9 at Coral. You can get a whopping 19/1 on a Latvia win at SBK while the draw pays 11/2 with LiveScoreBet.
Head to head
This is the first competitive meeting between two nations who have only faced off once before in a friendly. That came in Latvia back in 2004 and the Welsh won 2-0 thanks to late goals from Craig Bellamy and John Hartson.
Players to watch
Fulham winger Daniel James was the one player who looked a threat against Croatia with his pace and he could play a key role in breaking Latvia down. He's 7/4 at Paddy Power for anytime scorer and McBookie price him at 11/4 for an assist, which might be more likely.
Robert Uldrikis scored one of the sweetest strikes you're likely to see in that Dublin friendly last week as he smashed one home from 30 yards. The Cambuur forward will be on a high and is 15/2 at William Hill for another goal in Cardiff.
Anything else catch the eye?
You have to go all the way back to November 2021 to find Latvia's last blank, in a 0-0 draw with Norway. That 12-game scoring run has mostly come against minnows but BTTS still looks overpriced for this one at 7/4 with William Hill.
Backing a total of 2-3 goals paid off for me in Scotland's game at the weekend and I like it for this match too at 10/11 with Paddy Power. It ended 10-1 to Ireland on the corner count against Latvia in Dublin and that makes Wales worth a look in the corner handicap, although I've yet to see any prices.
The card markets are worth a look as well and I like the 9/4 on offer at Bet365 for Antonijs Cernomordijs to fall foul of the ref after two yellows in his last six international outings.
This Euro 2024 match between Wales and Latvia will be played on Mar 28, 2023 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Wales vs Latvia prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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