Czech Republic v Northern Ireland Betting Preview – World Cup 2018 Qualifier 4th September
Not an easy start for Northern Ireland in their World Cup 2018 qualifying campaign. They have to head out on the road and take on a side who can be technically very good. But they could be catching the Czech Republic at the right time because they have gone winless in their last four matches. Northern Ireland will have to continue to show that grit and quality to pull together at the back that they showed in their impressive Euro 2016 campaign in this one. A point out of this tough opener wouldn’t be all that bad of a result for them at all. Getting it is another thing entirely though.
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Czech Republic v Northern Ireland Betting Tips
So the Czech Republic didn’t get anywhere at Euro 2016. They scrapped well down to the finish in Euro 2016 qualifying, but then they failed to win any of their three games at the Finals. That really sums up the Czech Republic because they remain so inconsistent it is hard to know what to do with them. They have gone D1 L3 in their last four games and so need to find a way to pick themselves up in this one. They have taken wins over the Netherlands and Russia in friendlies this year but it is results like their 2-0 loss against Turkey at Euro 2016 and a 2-1 loss against South Korea prior to the tournament which makes them very confusing to back. The Czech’s were good during Euro 2016 qualifying though.
They posted a W7 D1 L2 record along the way to top their group ahead of Iceland, Turkey and the Netherlands. So it is there in them, but not consistently. Up in the anytime goalscorer market you have Thomas Mecid at 8/5 and Milan Skoda and Vaclav Kadlec at 2/1 to hit the back of the net, with Matej Vydra at 11/5. So there’s some decent scoring options in there and there is a price of 4/7 on the No option in the Both Teams To Score market. You don’t expect a lot of goals to come from the Irish do you have to look under 2.5 goals on this one at a price of 8/15. Just to add weight to that, Northern Ireland failed to score in three of their four games at Euro 2016.
These two sides have clashed before in World Cup qualifiers. The Czech Republic won both meetings in World Cup 2002 qualifying, while the two played out two 0-0 draws in World Cup 2010 qualifying. Another indicator that this is going to be a low scoring affair then. Northern Ireland won’t have Wigan striker Will Grigg available for this one, so Kyle Lafferty is the main man up to against for them at a price of 3/1 in the anytime goalscorer market. Liam Boyce is a 4/1 punt. Northern Ireland showed a lot of strength in Euro 2016 qualifying and while it fell flat for them at the Finals themselves, if they can get back to doing what they do best, then a point in this one may be on their radar.
Czech Republic v Northern Ireland Betting Odds
Czech Republic 8/11, Draw 13/5, Northern Ireland 15/4.
Czech Republic v Northern Ireland Predictions
You would still have to side with the Czech Republic on home turf to come through with a win in this one. Northern Ireland are never that easy to break down and the Czech’s continue to be a hit and miss nation. This could be a scrappy old affair, but there are touches of great technical ability in the ranks of the home side, so look for them to sneak a win in a low scoring game under the 2.5 goal line.
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