The stand-out match on Friday night is in Paris where World Cup finalists France host the Netherlands in a blockbuster Euro 2024 qualifier.
A penalty shoot-out defeat to Argentina put paid to the Netherlands chances in Qatar, otherwise it might have been Louis van Gaal’s side who squared up to the French in the Final. The legendary Dutchman called it a day after the tournament and Ronald Koeman has stepped in to the role for a second time.
There’s no doubt he has a talented squad at his disposal but there’s a core that are the wrong side of 30 and are running out of opportunites to make their mark at an international tournament. 2010 was the last time they reached a major final and you have to go back to Euro 88, when Gullit, Van Basten and Rijkaard were in their pomp, for the their last tournament success.
Tonight gives them the chance to put down a marker but in opponents, France they’re up against the nation with arguably the strongest and deepest pool of talent in the world at the moment.
Unlike the Dutch squad the French have a youthful look to them, Giroud and Griezmann and two of just four over-30s, with an average age of 25.6.
However… the French haven’t been very convincing at home in recent campaigns. Across World Cup qualifying and their Nations League campaign they only won three of seven on home soil, against Finland, Kazakhstan and Austria. The Dutch look more than capable of springing a surprise at 7/2 but goals could be a better angle to approach this one.
The Dutch scored 2 or more in 10 of 13 outings in 2022 and kept just four clean sheets so, with plenty of attacking talent on display, both teams to score looks a good option at 5/6.
Sweden look a little over-priced at 12/5 to beat Belgium this evening. The Roberto Martinez era is over for the Belgians and arguably that of the supposed ‘Golden Generation’. 12 of their World Cup squad won’t be in Solna tonight as Domenico Tedesco takes charge for the first time.
The Swedes struggled in the Nations League, suffering relegation from League B and have included 41-year-old Zlatan Ibrahimovic in their squad. The mercurial striker has scored two international hat-tricks at the Friends Arena so don’t rule out him adding to his 62 goals for his nation.
There’s a clutch of games in the lower leagues in Scotland tonight and Queen’s Park have the chance to open up a crucial seven point lead at the top of the Championship.
The Spiders are unbeaten in 10 at home – that home being Stenhhousemuir’s Ochilview Park – and look backable tonight at 8/11 against an Arbroath side who are involved in a three-way battle to avoid the drop.
Falkirk‘s chances of going up as champions from League One were dealt what looks like a terminal blow at the weekend when they went down 1-0 to Queen of the South. That followed a 2-0 loss at leaders Dunfermline but there’s still plenty to play for for the Bairns who have a Scottish Cup semi-final to look forward to. Kelty Hearts are the visitors this evening and they should get things back on track with a win
Super Singles
Scottish Double
- Queen’s Park & Falkirk to win 7/5 Bet365
Upcoming Match Previews & Tips
- Fri 19:45 Inverness Caledonian Thistle vs Partick Thistle
- Fri 19:45 Sweden vs Belgium
- Fri 19:45 France vs Netherlands
- Fri 19:45 Czech Republic vs Poland
- Fri 19:45 Serbia vs Lithuania
- Sat 14:00 Scotland vs Cyprus
- Sat 17:00 Belarus vs Switzerland
- Sat 19:45 Croatia vs Wales
- Sat 19:45 Spain vs Norway
Racing Tips
Rizzel had a 3/1 winner on Thursday with Wake Up Early delivering the goods. He has two more fancies on Friday.
As always, let us know your best betting tips and predictions for today in the comments section below and good luck with all your bets!
The post Friday’s Top Tips: Euro Giants Have Goals in Sight appeared first on MrFixitsTips.
