URUGUAY v SAUDI ARABIA
Kickoff: 1600hrs
Football – World – World Cup 2018 Betting Tips
Welcome to my World Cup 2018 betting tips, with Uruguay taking on Saudi Arabia as the second round of matches start in Group A with group favourites, Uruguay, perhaps a little fortunate to have registered three points in their opening match.
Uruguay looked decidedly below par for large periods of the game against Egypt, and it looked increasingly likely that they’d blown their chance of taking advantage of a Pharoahs outfit that was missing their vital talisman, Mo Salah, as the scores were level 0-0 with just a minute of normal time remaining.
The Uruguayans had been wasteful of some golden opportunities, with Suarez looking particularly out of sorts, while fellow forward, Cavani, had hit the woodwork and had forced a fantastic save from Egypt keeper, El Shenawi. But when all had seemed lost (or drawn in this case), up popped Gimenez to head home a last-gasp winner for a very relieved Uruguayan side.
On a positive note, Uruguay looked pretty solid at the back as captain and stalwart, Godin, was always on hand to snuff out any dangers from what was a fairly toothless Egyptian attack without Salah. Wing-backs, Caceres and Varela were given space to roam up the flanks, while defensive midfielders, Bentancur and Vecino controlled the tempo of the game.
Saudi Arabia came into this World Cup with a fair amount of confidence that they could frustrate host nation Russia into perhaps earning a point in their curtain-raiser, with a view to grabbing a possible win over Egypt, but as we all saw, the script took a very different turn indeed.
Saudi Arabia’s plans were thrown out the window from as early as the 12th minute when Gazinskiy slotted home to give Russia a 1-0 lead, and as Saudi Arabia folded, the Russians never looked back, posting another goal in the first half, and a further three in the second half as the Green Falcons wilted.
Naive defending and a lack of keeping possession for any length of time were their biggest downfalls, as well as a lack of cutting edge up front as they rarely tested Russia keeper, Akinfeev throughout the match.
Their task now gets even harder as they take on a Uruguay side who have the personnel to take them apart, including Suarez who will no doubt be keen to get on the scoresheet and put in a better shift today, and Cavani who was desperately unlucky not to score against Egypt.
My betting tips system suggests we could see some goals here.
Pick: Over 2.5 goals @ 1.56 Marathonbet
