There’s only o̶n̶e̶ TWO shows in town tonight as four teams battle it out for a place at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Most neutral fans would love to see Robert Lewandowski and Cristiano Ronaldo at the finals but Sweden and lowly North Macedonia will have something to say about that.
Lewi’s Polish side have enjoyed a relatively fortuitous route to this play-off final. Drawn in Group I alongside England they only had to finish above Albania (ranked 65th in the world) and Hungary (41st) in order to book a play-off slot. A 92nd minute equaliser earned them a point aginst England in Warsaw but taking just one point from a possible six against Hungary should set alarm bells ringing.
The Poles then got a bye in the semi-final due to Russia’s exclusion from the tournament and here they are, one match away from the Finals.
Sweden’s big concern must be their patchy away form in qualifying where they lost on the road in Spain, Greece and Georgia on their way to a second place finish in Group B. Automatic qualification went down to the wire however and their fate was only sealed by an 86th minute Alvaro Morata goal in the final match which secure top spot for the Spaniards.
If the Swedes can nullify Lewandowski, or at least the supply to him, then they’ve a good chance of claiming the win at 9/4. With so much at stake it’s unlikely to be an open affair so it could take a single goal to separate the sides. Sweden to win by a one-goal margin pays 7/2.
The Portuguese will have breathed a huge sigh of relief when they heard that it’d be Blagoja Milevski’s side they’d be facing tonight and not Roberto’s Mancini’s team following an incredible late winner in Palermo for the North Macedonians. But Portugal should write them off at their peril. They’ve now won in Germany and Italy en route to tonight’s play-off final and at 20/1 (SBK) won’t fear a trip to Estádio do Dragão.
Let’s not forget that star-studded Portugal bottled it on the final matchday of qualification too. Following an unimpressive campaign which saw them beat Azerbaijan 1-0 at home thanks to an own goal, beat Ireland 2-1 thanks to two injury-time Ronaldo goals, then draw 0-0 with the Irish in Dublin, they only had to draw with Serbia in Lisbon to secure top spot, but a Aleksander Mitrovic’s 90th minute goal stunned a nation and left CR7 in tears.
Ronaldo has the chance to make things right tonight and will most likely steal all the headlines. The Manchester United striker is just 4/9 to add to his 115 international goals against North Macedonia and 7/4 to break the deadlock. Me? I’ll be having a cheeky quid with SBK on the underdogs who deserve more respect than the 20/1 quotes.
Super Single
- Sweden Double Chance & Under 2.5 Goals 11/10 Bet365
Upcoming Match Previews & Tips
- Football Bet of the Day: Back both sides to net at the Peninsula on Tuesday evening
- Tuesday’s Goals Accumulator Tips: Today’s 7/1 Total Team Goals Acca
- Tue 12:00 Kazakhstan Under 21s v Scotland Under 21s
- Tue 17:00 Cyprus v Estonia
- Tue 19:45 Portugal v North Macedonia
- Tue 19:45 Poland v Sweden
- Tue 19:45 Austria v Scotland
- Tue 19:45 England v Ivory Coast
- Tue 19:45 Netherlands v Germany
- Tue 19:45 Northern Ireland v Hungary
- Tue 19:45 Republic of Ireland v Lithuania
Today’s Racing Tips
Rizzel aims to bounce back for Monday’s blank day with his sole selection of the day at Navan.
As always, let us know your tips and predictions for today in the comments section below and good luck with all your bets!
The post Tuesday’s Football Tips: Swede Dreams Are Made of This appeared first on MrFixitsTips.