Euro 2016 – Wales X Northern Ireland – Bets

wales-vs-northern-ireland

Wales X Northern Ireland

Wales vs Northern Ireland – Prediction

Wales Win – (3-1) – It’s easy to forget that both Wales and Northern Ireland are debutantes in the European Championship. Even though Wales was expected to get through to the knockouts they themselves wouldn’t have thought to qualify as the group winners. As for Northern Ireland who were not expected to get through to this stage they’ve already exceeded expectations. Two home nations will fight it out and which ever way the result goes they’ve certainly done their country proud.

Fixture Overview:

Match 38

Wales vs Northern Ireland

Parc des Princes, Paris

6 P.M CET, 25-06-2016

Betting Tips – Wales X Northern Ireland

  • Wales to Win – 2.05 (Bet 365)

If the Wales are to perform as they’ve done so far this tournament then this result isn’t of much doubt. Whats i like about this is the fact that despite being the over-whelming favorites they do have decent odds for their win and i wouldn’t miss this bet if i were you.

  • Anytime Goal Scorer – Gareth Bale – 2.50 (888 Sport)

He has scored 3 goals in the three games so far and we reckon he is going to make it 4 out of 4 against Northern Ireland.

  • Both teams to Score – Yes – 2.75 (William Hill)

Wales have conceded three till now but did manage to keep a clean sheet in their last group against Russia but we can see them conceding here and Northern Ireland to concede a lot.

  • Over 2.5 Goals – 3.00 (Coral)

The same reason as above and you might want to keep in mind that all of Wales’ games till now have seen 3 goals being scored.

  • Match Specials – Bale to outscore Washington of Northern Ireland – 2.50 (Paddypower)

You know the reason![sc name=”sportbooks” ]

Route to Knockouts

  • Wales have been one of the most impressive teams in the tournament thus far. After winning their tournament opener against Slovakia 2-1 they suffered a minor setback against they’re bitter rivals England in the 2nd game losing 2-1. However the team bounced back in their last group game by comprehensively beating Russia 3-0 and they’re entering the knockouts as the group champions. (2 Wins, 1 Loss, 6 Points)
  •  After qualifying for their first ever European Championships as the winner of their qualifying group debutantes Northern Ireland have already exceeded expectations in reaching the knockouts. They suffered 1-0 defeats against Poland and Germany in the group stage but did beat Ukraine 2-0 to enter the round of 16’s as the last of the top 4 3rd placed teams.

Eurocupbetting Group Stage Bet Tips

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group E

Wales

Aaron-Ramsey

It might be Gareth Bale that gets all the attention but Aaron Ramsey for me has been their best player till now, lets see if he can carry on his form against Northern Ireland (www.thenational.ae)

Wales’ performance against Russia was widely praised as not only one of the best performance of Euro 2016 but also as one of Wales’ best performance in history. Even with the likes of Ashley Williams, Joe Allen & Aaron Ramsey in the side Wales have always been refereed to as a one man team that man being Gareth Bale.

However with their performance against Russia the likes of Joe Allen and Aaron Ramsey are finally getting the attention these deserve. Gareth Bale has also been excellent so far scoring in all three of the group games and making him only the third player to do so after Ruud Van Nistelrooy & Milan Baros (Euro 2004).

Wales have the head to head advantage going into the game with 44 wins in 95 previous meetings. The last time and only time Wales managed to enter the knockouts of a major competition was in the 1958 World Cup and reached the quarters before being eliminated by Brazil.

Euro 2016 has been a quite cagey tournament but the matches with Wales involved has provided 3 goals a piece. Interestingly enough all the three goals conceded by them have been scored by substitutes. Their 22 shots on goal during the group stage is the highest among all 24 teams.

Wales manager Chris Coleman will have to decide who’ll start the game upfront with there being no stand out performer among the trio of Hal Robson Kanu, Jonathan Williams & Sam Vokes.

Overall Bet Tips

  • Top Scorer
  1. Gareth Bale – 1.03 (Paddypower) – Tournament Top Scorer – 5.60 (188 Bet)
  2. Hal Robson Kanu – 51.00 (188 Bet)
  3. Aaron Ramsey – 67.00 (Bet 365)

Bale has three till now and look set for more against Northern Ireland. His nearest competitors are Hal Robson Kanu and Aaron Ramsey both of whom have one goal a piece. It’s difficult to see anyone overtaking Bale as Wales’ top scorer but the bet that i’ll place my money on Bale is to be tournament’s top scorer. His nearest competition is Alvaro Morata of Spain but they’ll be knocked by Italy.

  •  Goals Scored/Conceded
  1. 5-6 Goals conceded – 1.83 (Skybet) – 3 goals till now
  2. 7+ Goals conceded – 4.50 (Skybet)
  3. 5-6 Goals scored – 3.00 (Skybet) – 6 till now
  4. 7+ Goals Scored – 1.17 (Skybet)
  5. Over 8.5 Goals Scored – 2.20 (Skybet)

Well this was one of the best that i got wrong in the group stages, i was expecting them to not score more than 6 in this tournament but they took their tally from 3 to 6 in a single game. There are still plenty of goals in this team so follow the highlighted bets as both should be winners.

  • Overall Finish/Stage of Elimination
  1. Round of 16’s – 2.90 (188 Bet)
  2. Quarter – 2.50 (Paddypower)
  3. Semi’s – 8.00 (Sportingbet)
  4. Runner-up – 13.00 (Coral)
  5. Winner – 31.00 (888 Sport)

That’s right if you have gone through our group stage predictions you’ll know that i expected Wales to get through to the quarters but not beyond that. Well now that we know the complete we are changing our pick and are backing Wales to get through to the semi’s. If they are to win this tie then it will be either Hungry or Belgium and for me Wales will start as the favorites no matter who their opponent in the quarter-finals is.

Other Knockout Predictions

Switzerland vs Poland

Croatia vs Portugal

France vs Ireland

Germany vs Slovakia

Hungry vs Belgium

Italy vs Spain

England vs Iceland

Northern Ireland

Micheal-McGovern

The flying Irish was on fire against Germany can he once again pull of superb performance against Wales? (skysports.com)

Statically Northern Ireland are the worst team in the tournament in terms of Possession, goal attempts, passing etc. however here they are in the knockouts of the European Championship on their debut and only 90 mins away from a quarter final appearance.

The last time they were in the knockout round of a major tournament was in 1958 World Cup when they managed to reach the quarter-finals before being eliminated by France. While it is true that Northern Ireland only scraped through to the Round of 16’s virtue of their goal difference one has to remember the fact that they were grouped through with Poland and Germany.

Their performance against Germany was admirable with Keeper Michael McGovern providing a stand out performance that ultimately despite their 1-0 loss helped their Goal Difference. Northern Ireland’s last victory against Wales came in 1980 but since then have lost 4 and drawn 4 of their 8 meetings before Saturday.

Northern Ireland are yet to concede more than one goal a game in their 16 internationals and have lost only 2 of their last 15 internationals but those losses were against Poland & Germany in the group stage. The most depressing bit of stat from their group stage efforts is that they managed only a single shot on target in their two games against Poland and Germany.

Northern Ireland have a fully fit squad to choose from and Head Coach Michael O’Neill might start with the same 11 that started against Germany & Ukraine.

Overall Bet Tips

  • Top Scorer
  1. Gareth McAuley – 3.50 (Betvictor)
  2. Niall McGinn – 3.50 (Betvictor)
  3. Conor Washington – 11.00 (Paddypower)

We do feel Northern Ireland will score against Wales but who’ll score it is literally a toss-up. The duo of Gareth McAuley & Niall McGinn have scored a goal of apiece so i’ll go with the winger Niall McGinn over defender McAuley as their top scorer.

  • Total Goals Scored/Conceded
  1. 3-4 goals conceded – 1.62 (Skybet) – 2 till now
  2. 5-6 goals conceded – 2.88 (Skybet)
  3. Over 4.5 Goals conceded – 2.38 (Skybet)
  4. Over 2.5 Goals scored – 1.57 (Skybet) – 2 till now
  • Overall Finish/Stage of Elimination
  1. Round of 16’s – 1.45 (888 Sport)
  2. Quarter – 3.50 (Ladbrokes)
  3. Semi’s – 15.00 (WilliamHill)
  4. Runner-up – 51.00 (Coral)
  5. Winner – 251.00 (Bet 365)

They’ve had their moment but Saturday should be the end of the journey. The odds on offer is low but should be a winner.

Past Meeting

The last time these two teams met was in a friendly last March and the game ended in a 1-1 draw with Craig Cathcart scoring for Northern Ireland while Simon Church equalized for Wales through a late penalty.

Final Verdict

The fact of the matter is that these are two teams who are ranked 25th(Northern Ireland) & 26th (Wales) in the World as per FIFA rankings. Yet Wales will be the overwhelming favorites heading into their game largely because of their momentum after thumping Russia 3-0. Wales should do the expected and our top scorer pick of the tournament Gareth Bale will have a big say in it.