EURO 2012 Qualifiers - Saturday 26 March

[bluebird in exile]

Re: EURO 2012 Qualifiers - Saturday 26 March Mustafa - re: the Millennium Stadium and the popularity of football v rugby in Wales, I was part of an 80,000 crowd that saw Wales hammer the Azeri 4-0 in 2003, so it's not just rugby and England that the stadium sells out for. Rugby isn't more popular than football in Wales. The last census showed there are many more people playing and watching football than rugby. The top football clubs in Wales get around double the attendance of the top rugby clubs, and that's despite the fact that the vast majority of Welsh fans support either Liverpool or Man United. As for today's game, England will win easily. Wales have no confidence or momentum whatsoever and England are superior in almost every position.

[spkutano]

Re: EURO 2012 Qualifiers - Saturday 26 March Republic of Ireland - Macedonia Pick: Over 2.5 goals Important match for both national teams. If Macedonia don't win here, then the dreams about the next European championship will die. I know nobody believes Macedonia can qualify, but anyway, they must try. That is why I am expecting an efficient match at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. And I see two reasons for my pick, first one is determined by the defensive problems in Republic of Ireland national team, while the second reason is Macedonia. As You probably know, Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni is facing with lot of problems in the defense. First goalkeeper Shay Given is injured (Kieren Westwood from Coventry will replace him) and he won't play. I am sure it is a big handicap. Two more player are also sidelined with injuries - O'Shea and Coleman. To be the situation even worse, Dunne is recovering from calf injury. According to the latest news he will play, but it is a question how prepared he is. Now the second reason, Macedonia. Coach Mirsad Jonuz is under big pressure as the results are poor. Macedonia have just one victory (against poor Andorra) and the fans are frustrated. The media turns against Jonuz asking for some success and that is why the coach announced very, very offensive formation for this match. It is like suicide for Macedonia to play 4-3-3 against any decent team. But the current circumstances are pushing Jonuz in that direction and he will start the game with Pandev, Naumoski and Trickovski in attack. And it is important to be mentioned that Goran Pandev's confidence is very high at the moment after he scored the decisive goal for Inter against Bayern Munchen in UEFA Champions League. In situation like this I think we will see at least three goals at Aviva Stadium.

[Mustafa]

Re: EURO 2012 Qualifiers - Saturday 26 March

Mustafa - re: the Millennium Stadium and the popularity of football v rugby in Wales, I was part of an 80,000 crowd that saw Wales hammer the Azeri 4-0 in 2003, so it's not just rugby and England that the stadium sells out for. Rugby isn't more popular than football in Wales. The last census showed there are many more people playing and watching football than rugby. The top football clubs in Wales get around double the attendance of the top rugby clubs, and that's despite the fact that the vast majority of Welsh fans support either Liverpool or Man United. As for today's game, England will win easily. Wales have no confidence or momentum whatsoever and England are superior in almost every position.

I think with England it might be better to wait for in-play when the odds increase a bit, like it was with Spain yesterday (I took them @ 2.40 after HT).

[Jase82]

Re: EURO 2012 Qualifiers - Saturday 26 March Couple of speculative ones for me. Wales v England. Time of first booking - No Card before 30:00 @ 1.83. Asian Cards - Under 4 @ 2.075. Basically, I don't think this will quite be the blood and guts thundering derby the media would have everyone believe. I'm not even sure how much rivalry there is between England and Wales. For me, the real derby will always be when we face Scotland. With league football coming to a close in the following month, and this unfortunate international set of fixtures coming smack bang in the middle of a serious time of the calender, I can't see too many players willing to risk serious injury. The only two previous head to heads to go on, during qualifying for Germany '06 resulted in three yellows between the two fixtures. Both sides had far dirtier players back then.

[Jamaican]

Re: EURO 2012 Qualifiers - Saturday 26 March Albania - Belarus Probable formations: Albania 4-4-2 Belarus 4-4-1-1 Belarus. Too many missing for Belarus, and that's the main weak element for an otherwise positive team that managed a win away in France. The other factor is that the majority of players play in russian and national championship, and their physical form may not be at the best, since both these leagues have been off for some months (russian starting from a week or so). The most problematic repart will be the attack line. Hleb there, apart the fact that hasn't been in an official game for 4 months, has never been activated as central attacker, his normal position is a winger or an advanced midfielder. His partner, Kovel, is dangerous in close distance, however Cana and Teli, the two central defenders of Albania NT can cover him with their experience. Next, the first goalie Zhevnov will miss, his place will be taken by either Amelchenko or Veremko. Amelchenko is the second goalie of Lokomotiv Moscow, Veremko is part of Sevastopol, a team just promoted in Ukraine Premier League, so both of them are discussable regarding their talent. All in all this is a team with 70% of its real power. On a positive note, coach Stange will liine up a dense midfield to compensate the attack, and block all the spaces. Being thus a defensive team, with no real counterattack force, the main dangers are expected from distant kicks (Kislyak of Rubin Kazan is the man here), or placed kicks. Some youngsters from U21 are called, however this is a team that still has a great experience, and that excels in defensive maneuvers, as shown in away games up to now. Being under criticism from media and fans, coach Kuzhe of Albania has prepared an attacking formation, going out of his defensive nature. This game is decisive in deciding if Albania will go ahead with qualifications, or will close this chapter tonight. New goalkeeper, Ujkani, is an element that I have appreciated too much in Novara, Serie B. Also the defense line looks somehow good. Captain Cana (ex-Sunderland) is back, and the guy is always a motivator, and a fighter in center of defense. However the problems start in the midfield line. Old players, Lala (35-Hannover), Skela (34-Arka Gdynia), that will have difficulty keeping up the pace of belarus players. Also Bogdani (Cesena) in attack line is overrated and offers no guarantee. Very difficult game to see through. Belarus is not at hist best however has enough experience to throw on field. Coach Kuzhe has declared that Albania will play with long balls, that translated to me, means counterattacks, so a careful approach is expected from both teams. Also the long balls aren't exactly the Albania's specialty. Add to that the battle in midfield, where Belarus will concentrate his forces, and a low scoring game is expected. However the odds are miserable, around 1.50 for under so I'm going on alternative bets. 1st half X @ 2.00 Bet365 4/10 CS 1-0 @ 7.50 Bwin 0.5/10 CS 0-0 @ 7.50 William Hill 0.5/10 CS 0-1 @ 7 William Hill 0.5/10 First Goal Time Bands 61-70 @ 15 Bet365 0.5/10 First Goal Time Bands 71-80 @ 17 Bet365 0.5/10 First Goal Time Bands 81-90 @ 15 Bet365 0.5/10 7/10 invested, pretty high, let's see what will happen.

[Jamaican]

Re: EURO 2012 Qualifiers - Saturday 26 March

Republic of Ireland - Macedonia Pick: Over 2.5 goals Important match for both national teams. If Macedonia don't win here, then the dreams about the next European championship will die. I know nobody believes Macedonia can qualify, but anyway, they must try. That is why I am expecting an efficient match at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. And I see two reasons for my pick, first one is determined by the defensive problems in Republic of Ireland national team, while the second reason is Macedonia. As You probably know, Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni is facing with lot of problems in the defense. First goalkeeper Shay Given is injured (Kieren Westwood from Coventry will replace him) and he won't play. I am sure it is a big handicap. Two more player are also sidelined with injuries - O'Shea and Coleman. To be the situation even worse, Dunne is recovering from calf injury. According to the latest news he will play, but it is a question how prepared he is. Now the second reason, Macedonia. Coach Mirsad Jonuz is under big pressure as the results are poor. Macedonia have just one victory (against poor Andorra) and the fans are frustrated. The media turns against Jonuz asking for some success and that is why the coach announced very, very offensive formation for this match. It is like suicide for Macedonia to play 4-3-3 against any decent team. But the current circumstances are pushing Jonuz in that direction and he will start the game with Pandev, Naumoski and Trickovski in attack. And it is important to be mentioned that Goran Pandev's confidence is very high at the moment after he scored the decisive goal for Inter against Bayern Munchen in UEFA Champions League. In situation like this I think we will see at least three goals at Aviva Stadium.

I had a bet on Macedonia - Albania some time ago, that I lost. Same as Albania, Mac. appeared an underish team, and now that I'm checking only 1/9 of its last games went over. The goals seems to came late as well in its game. Thanks for the preview and good luck with your bet. For me small stakes on these bets: CS 1-0 @ 5.5 Bet365 1/10 CS 2-0 @ 6.5 William Hill 0.5/10 CS 2-1 @ 9 William Hill 0.5/10

[harry_rag]

Re: EURO 2012 Qualifiers - Saturday 26 March I like Wales to get the first booking against England at 6/5 with PP. Most other firms have Wales as odds-on favourite in this market though a couple do go 11/10. Given their status as underdogs and the fact that the spreads have them as marginal favourites in the bookings points supremacy market I feel they should be a shade of odds-on or evens at most so 6/5 represents value. I've had a single on this and Wales to get the last booking at the same price.

[Mustafa]

Re: EURO 2012 Qualifiers - Saturday 26 March Germany - Kazakhstan I found an interesting bet and will try it here. This one is more fun bet but I will give my reasoning. I will go with total goal minutes, which means adding all minutes the goals were scored. Matches involving Germany quite often produce goals in the later stages of the game and also taking into account that at home Germany will destroy Kazakhstan. The advantage of this bet is that even if Kazakhstan score it will count towards total goal minutes. Here are some stats from the last EURO 2012 games Germany Played: Kazakhstan 0-3 Germany (Goals: 48, 76, 85; Total 209 minutes) Germany 3-0 Turkey (Goals: 42, 79, 87; Total 208 minutes) Germany 6-1 Azerbaijan (Goals: 28, 45, 45, 53, 57, 86, 90; Total 404 minutes) I expect this game to be similar to when Germans beat Azerbaijan and I can see many goals. Would have taken Germany on a handicap but odds are too short IMO. Over 240 Goal Minutes @ 2.20 Bet365

[captaincool]

Re: EURO 2012 Qualifiers - Saturday 26 March

Couple of speculative ones for me. Wales v England. Time of first booking - No Card before 30:00 @ 1.83. Asian Cards - Under 4 @ 2.075. Basically, I don't think this will quite be the blood and guts thundering derby the media would have everyone believe. I'm not even sure how much rivalry there is between England and Wales. For me, the real derby will always be when we face Scotland. With league football coming to a close in the following month, and this unfortunate international set of fixtures coming smack bang in the middle of a serious time of the calender, I can't see too many players willing to risk serious injury. The only two previous head to heads to go on, during qualifying for Germany '06 resulted in three yellows between the two fixtures. Both sides had far dirtier players back then.

I agree with you, but do you not think in this instance taking the European line of under 4.5 cards, at 1.75ish offers better value as you are gaining a whole extra card?

[ValueHunter]

Re: EURO 2012 Qualifiers - Saturday 26 March Albania - Belarus I don't know much about Albania and Belarus but I think Belarus are slightly overrated here. Ye they defeated France on the road but couldn't manage to beat Luxenbourg later on. Jamaican already informed us about the key missings in their line up and I doubt Belarus have enough quality on the bench to replace the regulars. This is a must win match for the Albanians if they want to stay in the game for the second position. I'll play it safe here Albania (0)AH @ 2.00 Bet365 so in case of draw I have my stake back.

[slizorn]

Re: EURO 2012 Qualifiers - Saturday 26 March

I agree with you' date=' but do you not think in this instance taking the European line of under 4.5 cards, at 1.75ish offers better value as you are gaining a whole extra card?[/quote'] Well what Jase has done is gone for the higher odds, he doesn't really lose out. If there are exactly 4 cards he gets his stake back, I would do the same too seeing how I am getting better odds and if I was fairly confident on there being 3 or less cards in the game. Personal preference really, at least that's what I think.

[Jase82]

Re: EURO 2012 Qualifiers - Saturday 26 March

I agree with you' date=' but do you not think in this instance taking the European line of under 4.5 cards, at 1.75ish offers better value as you are gaining a whole extra card?[/quote'] meh.... tbh, during the analysis, I've pretty much come to the conclusion that the most we'll see are three cards anyway, which is why I've gone for the higher option :ok Could be well wrong though as I couldn't find any info on the referee, and should Carroll or Crouch play too big a part I can see one of them getting penalised for jumping up in the air :\

[Mr_Metgod]

Re: EURO 2012 Qualifiers - Saturday 26 March Whilst I agree with the comments about Wales v England not being a dirty match, it will only take one ill-timed challenge to get the players blood pumping, but I suppose that could be said for any match. Wales have a couple of decent players, but I see England winning this by a couple. England -1 6/5 @ Paddypower. I've also had a five-fold of England 4/9 Russia 4/7 Croatia 8/13 Germany -3 8/11 Slovakia -2 10/11 12.09 in total. Medium stakes. As above, I see England winning by a couple, but this is just to cover the risk of a 'usual' England performance. I see Russia winning a narrow match, with Croatia the same. Germany's odds are low for the handicap market, and this is the best value I could find with out trying to push my luck too far. This is the same for Slovakia, although I fancy them to get a few more; I just don't know enough about them to back them any further. :hope

[RobinD]

Re: EURO 2012 Qualifiers - Saturday 26 March I had to take a nibble at Croatia, a solid side away to Georgia. Can't see a good reason why Croatia had to steam up to 1.70 and I had a punt. No real reasoning here I know. But Croatia is like Holland and in many ways my home country Sweden. When it comes to qualifications they are consequent and rarely slip up if not opposed to a bigger team like Sweden was when facing the Ducth team.

[Mustafa]

Re: EURO 2012 Qualifiers - Saturday 26 March

I had to take a nibble at Croatia' date=' a solid side away to Georgia. Can't see a good reason why Croatia had to steam up to 1.70 and I had a punt. No real reasoning here I know. But Croatia is like Holland and in many ways my home country Sweden. When it comes to qualifications they are consequent and rarely slip up if not opposed to a bigger team like Sweden was when facing the Ducth team.[/quote'] Caucasian teams are always unpredictable and can produce surprise results. It was always like that, even during Soviet times top Russian teams struggled when playing in Azerbaijan, Armenia or Georgia.

[RobinD]

Re: EURO 2012 Qualifiers - Saturday 26 March

Caucasian teams are always unpredictable and can produce surprise results. It was always like that' date=' even during Soviet times top Russian teams struggled when playing in Azerbaijan, Armenia or Georgia.[/quote'] Well Croatia has no slip up on away pitch i WC or EUC quals since before 2008. This team is a well oiled machine. The worst you can find is 5-1 to England and draw away to Ukraine. Gerogia on the other hand on home soil, there best result is a couple of draws against Montenegro, Ukraine, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Israel. Wins against weaker sides like Scotland, Faroe Islands and Malta. Croatia are a number to big of all mentioned teams and I find 1.70 to big for a team winning 14/20 last WC and EUC away games. No abscences as I can find either.

[blackcrow]

Re: EURO 2012 Qualifiers - Saturday 26 March Armenia - Russia over 2.5 @ 2.14 pinnacle Pretty tight group here with Russia leading just two points above Armenia and a couple of other teams. A win for either side will be massive, and especially for the Russians they can look to pull away from the other sides. They have some quality up front, with Arshavin, Pavlyuchenko and Pogrebnyak all capable of scoring goals, and they will be looking to score early once again, as they have done in each of their 3 away games in these qualifiers. Armenia have scored goals in their qualifiers, especially at home, where they have scored 9 goals in their 3 home games, so expect them to attack as well. They are not a side that can defend for long periods, so even if they do take the lead, can see the Russians scoring on them. Like this game to have some goals in it. England -1.5 @ 2.46 pinnacle Can't see the Welsh being too competitive in this game, especially without Bale, and relying on players like Ramsey is not enough when you do not have the same quality around him, like the English have. Wales have lost all 3 games, losing 1-0 at Montenegro (where England drew 0-0), losing 1-0 at home to Bulgaria, who England smashed 4-0 at home, and losing 4-1 in Switzerland who England beat 3-1 in Switzerland. Doubt that England will be complacent here as they will look to win this one well, given the rivalry they have with their neighbours, and expect Rooney to step up here, while Wilshere is a player with plenty of promise for them. Bulgaria - Switzerland under 2.5 @ 1.60 pinnacle Expect this to be a low scoring game here with neither side having a major goal threat here. Berbatov is no longer part of the national side while the Swiss are not a team that creates alot of chances. Bulgaria have scored just once in the 1-0 win over Wales but have not scored in the other two games, losing 1-0 to Montenegro and 4-0 to England. The Swiss lost 1-0 in their only away game in Montenegro, so they are likely to play this one tight as well. Both sides are pretty evenly matched to doubt that much will separate them in the end, as the defences should outperform the respective strikers Georgia - Croatia under 2.5 @ 1.69 pinnacle Georgia have shown that they are pretty solid defensively, as they have allowed just 2 goals in their qualifiers while scoring 3 goals. They are up against the group favourites and expect them to keep it tight here, as they will not want to allow the likes of Modric to open them up here. The Croats are the better side and are more than likely to win, but the Georgians have shown that they can defend well, and will look to play a similar game to what the Greeks did when they defended resolutely in the 0-0 draw with Croatia in Zagreb. Croatia's defence is pretty solid too, having allowed just one goals in their 4 qualifiers, and doubt that they will have much to do, as expect the home side to stack their defence. Andorra - Slovakia under 3.5 @ 1.61 pinnacle Andorra have scored just once in their 4 qualifiers so far, and up against a good defence, hard to see them adding to this tally. While they have allowed a few goals in these games, they are playing a forward line that has scored just once in each of their 4 qualifiers, so can see them finding it difficult to break down an Andorran defence that will be looking so save some face and not concede too many goals yet again. While Slovakia should win, they did lose to Luxembourg in a friendly, so they will be looking to ensure they firstly they do not concede while doing enough to get the win Malta - Greece under 2.5 @ 1.86 pinnacle Malta have scored just once in their 4 qualifiers as a lack of quality up front has been the main reason for their inability to score consistently. They face a team that tends to defend well, and have kept two clean sheets in their 4 qualifiers. Greece have scored 4 goals in their games, but they too are not renowed for scoring many goals. Like this to be a low scoring game with Greece doing most of the attacking but finding it hard to penetrate a home side who will be looking to frustrate them for as long as possible, like they did in the 2007 Euro qualifier where they held out until the 67th minute before conceding a penalty to them. Germany - Kazakstan under 4.5 @ 2.13 pinnacle Germany will have too much class for the Kazaks and should win this game, but the question is by how much do they want to win this. Would not be surprised that they are complacent coming into this game after beating them 3-0 in Kazakhstan. Doubt that the Kazaks will score as they have not done so this far while the Germans have allowed just one goal. The visitors have not allowed more than 3 goals in their 4 qualifers, so expect them to play it very tight and have plenty of players behind the ball, so as not to get exposed and conceded many goals. For the Germans, they will be looking to get the win and stay injury free, as many of their players have some big games coming up, so doubt that they will do much to risk themselves in this game.

[beer]

Re: EURO 2012 Qualifiers - Saturday 26 March Today i am going to lay Israel and support my nattional team Latvia. :) We have a pretty good record against Israel and they will be without Benayoun - their main playmaker. I think we have improoved from our last games and we dont have many major injuries. Our attack will be Rudnevs(that guy who scored 4 goals against Juve) and Verpakovskis whos is our record goalscorer.Our national team coach have called up few younger players and we will have more pace in our squad. My prediction is draw 0 : 0 or 1 : 1 Chill :cheers

[ValueHunter]

Re: EURO 2012 Qualifiers - Saturday 26 March For those who are interested in the Bulgaria - Switzerland game. Here is the starting XI of Bulgaria: ------------------------N.Mihaylov-------------------- Bandalovski----K.Stoyanov-----Ivanov-------Zanev --Manolev------S.Petrov------Georgiev------Delev ---------------Popov--------Makriev---------- Mihaylov (Twente) Bandalovski (CSKA Sofia) Stoyanov (CSKA Sofia) Ivanov (Alania Vladikavkaz) Zanev (Litex) Manolev (PSV Eindhoven) S.Petrov (Aston Villa) Georgiev (Terek Grozny) Delev (CSKA Sofia) Popov (Gaziantepspor) Makriev (Ashdod) Martin Petrov (Bolton) is suspended which is a huge loss for the Bulgarian team. After Berbatov's retirement our team lacks creativity and scoring is not an easy job. Stiliyan Petrov (Aston Villa) is the natural leader of the team and I expect him to be among the key players tonight along with Ivelin Popov and Spas Delev. Popov is the only forward who scores regularly for the NT of Bulgaria and can be considered as a real threat. Spas Delev, the pacey winger of CSKA Sofia, will start his first important match for the national team and he is full of motivation. He is supposed to replace Martin Petrov and I think he might be able to cope with the task. Another player to watch is Manolev. His normal position is a RB but tonight he will play as a winger. He is much of a Gareth Bale type and is capable to play along the whole lenght of the right wing. The CB is the thing that worries me. K.Stoyanov is having good days in his club CSKA but this would be his international debut and the CB couple lacks some experience together. Ivanov is a player which I've never liked, slow and slugish, fast and creative players have always been a problem for him. The captain Stiliyan Petrov will play his match number 100 for the Bulgarian national team and I believe he will be extremely motivated to lead his guys to the victory. Important game for both of the sides, the one to lose will drop off the battle for the second position. Draw would be suicidal. I am not neutral so I will stay out of this game. Just wanted to share this info.

[Mister P]

Re: EURO 2012 Qualifiers - Saturday 26 March I had Armenia on the handicap, but after watching the last twenty of the first half, 1.90 for Russia looks good. Russia camped in Armenia's half. Edit: And I say this Armenia miss a glorious chance, ha. Doing better in this half.

[Mustafa]

Re: EURO 2012 Qualifiers - Saturday 26 March Just took Russia @ 2.40 Bet365. They are pressing a lot and will score soon IMO.

[Mr_Metgod]

Re: EURO 2012 Qualifiers - Saturday 26 March Just took it at 2/1, so :hope having plenty of chances

[Mustafa]

Re: EURO 2012 Qualifiers - Saturday 26 March

Just took it at 2/1' date=' so :hope having plenty of chances[/quote'] Can't believe it will finish 0-0 :wall

[Mister P]

Re: EURO 2012 Qualifiers - Saturday 26 March Think the Wales-England ref had a bit of the overs on the card market :unsure

[Mustafa]

Re: EURO 2012 Qualifiers - Saturday 26 March

Think the Wales-England ref had a bit of the overs on the card market :unsure

My friend told me to take Under 2.5 @ 4.00 at half time. I did not :wall

[Pay Day]

Re: EURO 2012 Qualifiers - Saturday 26 March Russia are a joke

[Jase82]

Re: EURO 2012 Qualifiers - Saturday 26 March

Couple of speculative ones for me. Wales v England. Time of first booking - No Card before 30:00 @ 1.83. Asian Cards - Under 4 @ 2.075. Basically, I don't think this will quite be the blood and guts thundering derby the media would have everyone believe. I'm not even sure how much rivalry there is between England and Wales. For me, the real derby will always be when we face Scotland. With league football coming to a close in the following month, and this unfortunate international set of fixtures coming smack bang in the middle of a serious time of the calender, I can't see too many players willing to risk serious injury. The only two previous head to heads to go on, during qualifying for Germany '06 resulted in three yellows between the two fixtures. Both sides had far dirtier players back then.

First yellow after 30 minutes :ok Had to be a Portugese referee though :@

[Mustafa]

Re: EURO 2012 Qualifiers - Saturday 26 March

First yellow after 30 minutes :ok Had to be a Portugese referee though :@

I was talking about cards in this game. Hate it when I miss on good bets.

[Jase82]

Re: EURO 2012 Qualifiers - Saturday 26 March Germany v Kazakhstan + 7.5 Asian Corner Handicap @ 2 - BET365. Taking another speculative gamble. Could be wrong of course, as there's not much real info to go on when taking these type of bets during international cards. I think there's no doubt there is a huge class difference here, and I can easily see Germany coasting to a three or four nil win. However, in the return leg they failed to beat this handicap. Winning 7-3 against Kazakhstan. I know it was away, but I don't think either team will be set up too differently. Germany will constantly be on the front foot, while Kazakhstan will take whatever they can get. I remember backing Azerbaijan at around this mark, which won too. So, :hope

[Mustafa]

Re: EURO 2012 Qualifiers - Saturday 26 March

Republic of Ireland - Macedonia Pick: Over 2.5 goals Important match for both national teams. If Macedonia don't win here, then the dreams about the next European championship will die. I know nobody believes Macedonia can qualify, but anyway, they must try. That is why I am expecting an efficient match at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. And I see two reasons for my pick, first one is determined by the defensive problems in Republic of Ireland national team, while the second reason is Macedonia. As You probably know, Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni is facing with lot of problems in the defense. First goalkeeper Shay Given is injured (Kieren Westwood from Coventry will replace him) and he won't play. I am sure it is a big handicap. Two more player are also sidelined with injuries - O'Shea and Coleman. To be the situation even worse, Dunne is recovering from calf injury. According to the latest news he will play, but it is a question how prepared he is. Now the second reason, Macedonia. Coach Mirsad Jonuz is under big pressure as the results are poor. Macedonia have just one victory (against poor Andorra) and the fans are frustrated. The media turns against Jonuz asking for some success and that is why the coach announced very, very offensive formation for this match. It is like suicide for Macedonia to play 4-3-3 against any decent team. But the current circumstances are pushing Jonuz in that direction and he will start the game with Pandev, Naumoski and Trickovski in attack. And it is important to be mentioned that Goran Pandev's confidence is very high at the moment after he scored the decisive goal for Inter against Bayern Munchen in UEFA Champions League. In situation like this I think we will see at least three goals at Aviva Stadium.

I like your reasoning but since I can't see either team winning 3-0 so I will take a better bet. Both to Score @ 2.37 Bet365