FOOTBALL TRADER
SPAIN are seen by many as the likeliest winners of the World Cup and they will be confident of registering an opening victory against Switzerland. The Swiss made it to the second round in 2006, losing 3-0 in a penalty shootout against Ukraine after a goalless 120 minutes. In fact, that year they became the first ever country to get knocked out of the World Cup having not conceded a single goal.
Vincente del Bosque’s Spanish side are packed full of talent and they have won their last 18 games. It has to be a worry for their tournament backers, however, that they have consistently failed on the biggest of stages, but they will hope that the Euro 2008 victory is a sign of better things to come.
David Villa has an astonishing goalscoring record for his country, finding the net 37 times in 57 appearances. He is as short as 5/2 with William Hill to score first this afternoon, but punters may be more interested in Sporting Index’s goal minutes spread of 39-42. Neither of those markets really do it for me as I think Switzerland will sit back and try to sneak a point.
The likes of France, England and Italy have flattered to deceive so far and I think Spain would be happy with any kind of victory against the Swiss. They should have too much for their opposition, but I can’t be backing them at 1/4 with Paddy Power in the outright market. Instead, I’ll be having a couple of bets; one on the HT/FT Spanish win at 10/11 on Betdaq and another on the 2-0 scoreline at around 5/1.
The games have generally been very low scoring so far in South Africa, but as La Roja have scored 19 goals in their last six games, I’d be tempted to sell Sporting Index’s goals quote at 2.7.
POINTERS…
Spain HT / FT at 10/11 on Betdaq
Spain to win 2-0 at 5/1 general
Sell total match goals at 2.7 with Sporting Index