Georgia v Wales Betting Preview – World Cup 2018 Qualifiers 6th October
Wales will want three points in this one and in doing so that will guarantee that they go into the final match against Ireland only needing to avoid defeat to hold on to the second place. The Welsh will be heading out into this one without talisman Gareth Bale though to take on Georgia, who they failed to beat earlier in the group on home soil. Wales need a big night out in Tbilisi to keep on pushing towards reaching the 2018 World Cup.
Georgia v Wales Betting Tips
The big news then is that Gareth Bale won’t be fit for this one, nor the play offs probably if Wales get there. The only ones happy about that will be Georgia and Ireland, who the Welsh face over the next week. Georgia are eliminated from qualification with only a D5 L3 record on the board, but they have shown patches of resilience, such as their 1-1 draw in Cardiff in the group, to suggest that they are going to give Wales a rough ride. Wales need points, not only to lock in a top two finish but if they end up in second then they will need to have enough to be one of the eight best runners up from the nine groups. Results against the bottom side in the group won’t count towards sorting out the best eight of nine runners-up, so their six points against Moldova in the campaign will be wiped out (assuming Moldova finishes bottom) which technically puts the Welsh on just eight points going into this one. Of the nine teams sitting in second place in UEFA qualification groups, the Welsh already have the lowest points tally.
The loss of Bale is huge for Wales. The Real Madrid forward has scored four of their twelve qualification group goals and suddenly without him, this away game looks even trickier. Bale scored in that 1-1 home draw against Georgia back in October last year. In the bet365 correct score mark at a 1-1 draw is a price of 11/2, with only a Wales 1-0 shorter at 9/2. They are going to need a big performance up front from someone. Hal Robson-Kanu is the 12/5 anytime goalscorer favourite with Sam Vokes at 7/4. Wales have drawn four of their last six games (W2) but with back to back wins in their last two, need to push on with that momentum. Wales are not likely to suffer a defeat here as they have taken a point at Serbia, Ireland and Austria in the group as part of their overall W3 D5 L0 record.
The Welsh need more than a point realistically in this fixture. Both teams to score at bet365 returns a price of 6/5 and that gets a mention as both teams have scored in seven of Georgia’s eight qualifiers. Will Wales be able to produce enough going forward to get the job done in what will be their first competitive game out in Georgia? Even though Georgia haven’t won in the group they have been competitive and in their last two qualifiers they have picked up a 1-1 draw against Austria and Ireland. That alone sends a warning sign to Wales, who have not won a match without Gareth Bale since 2013, drawing three and losing three matches in his absence. Under 2.5 goals at bet365 fetches a price of 1/2.
Georgia v Wales Betting Odds
Wales even money, Draw 12/5, Georgia 10/3
Georgia v Wales Predictions
Wales to win: While the Welsh will be missing the presence of Bale, they are facing a side who have already been eliminated from qualification and who have failed to beat Moldova on home soil. Wales can go there and grab a narrow victory. It doesn’t matter how, just that they do.
