KevMac sifts through the World Cup qualifiers to find some bets worth taking on.
Israel v Scotland
IF familiarity breeds contempt then Scotland and Israel must absolutely despise each other.
Tomorrow’s World Cup qualifier in Tel Aviv will be the sixth clash between them in two-and-a-half years, having never played each other before that.
Scotland won the most important of those games, edging a penalty shoot-out at Hampden in the play-off semi-final for Euro 2020.
But the Israelis got their revenge last year, beating us 1-0 to stop Steve Clarke’s men from winning their Nations League group.
That means the Scots must finish in the top two of Group E to keep their hopes of qualifying for the World Cup alive.
And this is a crucial game for both nations as they seek their first wins in a tight section.
Scotland began with a 2-2 home draw against Austria while the Israelis crashed 2-0 to group favourites Denmark in Tel Aviv.
Neither can afford to lose more ground and this should be a tight game, with no side winning by more than a one-goal margin in the five games between Scotland and Israel.
A one-goal winning margin for either side here pays 6/5 at McBookie and that’s worth a punt.
The half-time draw came up for me when Scotland hosted Austria and has a chance here too at evens with SportNation.
Seven cards were flashed in Scotland’s midweek game and there have also been four yellows or more in the last two clashes with Israel.
The ref let me down on Thursday by failing to show a card to John McGinn despite two blatant fouls.
But I’m going to stick with that bet here and the Aston Villa man is 13/5 with Bet365 to be carded.
Czech Republic v Belgium
There’s plenty of World Cup action today and Belgium’s trip to the Czech Republic should entertain armchair fans.
The Czechs smashed six past Estonia in midweek while my both teams to score tip came up as Belgium beat Wales 3-1.
So there should be goals in this one, with BTTS paying 4/5 at McBookie and over 2.5 goals the same price. Doubling those in a bet builder increases the odds to 113/100.
Albania v England
Betting against England in the handicaps proved profitable for me in midweek as San Marino +7 came up at odds-against.
But there’s little value in the handicaps for their game in Albania tomorrow with hosts odds-on with just a two-goal start.
The English scored three on their last visit to Albania in 2001 so backing over 2.5 goals for the Three Lions could pay off at a decent 6/4 with McBookie.
World Cup Double
I’ve been having about as much luck with doubles recently as a fading darts player with a crisis of confidence.
But I’m going for Norway to beat poor travellers Turkey today and Russia to see off Slovenia in a double that pays 3/1 at McBookie.
Super Singles
- Half-time draw in Israel v Scotland (evens, SportNation)
- Over 2.5 goals in Albania v England (6/4, McBookie)
Deadly Double
- Russia to beat Slovenia and Norway to defeat Turkey (3/1, McBookie)
I'm a sports journalist, football tipster and author from Dundee, who is now working in Glasgow. I've covered games at every level, from Junior football to internationals, and still love football even though it has clearly sold its soul. I've been in football tipping since 2018 with the MFT site.
