We got Chris Graham (@chrisgraham79) to give us his two best bets in Saturday’s Euro 2016 qualifiers.
Austria v Russia | Saturday 17:00 | Sky Sports 5
There’s a dark cloud hanging over Russia at the moment, and I’m not talking about Vladimir Putin.
Their football team had a hugely disappointing World Cup campaign when failing to win a match in their group stage exit. Things haven’t improved since and they shockingly drew at home to Moldova in their last qualifying match. And let’s not talk about Fabio Capello eh…
They face a big challenge on Saturday when they travel to Vienna to meet Austria. In truth, Russia look there for the taking. The Austrians have been gradually improving in recent years and just missed out on a place in the World Cup play-offs a year ago. They’ve started their Euro 2016 campaign in decent fashion with seven points out of nine accrued.
Wins over Montenegro and Moldova were preceded by a home draw against Sweden, and it’s fair to say that Marcel Koller’s side are thick in the mix for the two automatic qualifying spots.
Austria also boast a fantastic home record and have won five of their last seven competitive matches on home soil. Sweden and the Republic Of Ireland have both suffered defeat during this run and I think Russia might as well. To see 19/10 on Austria surprised me, and I’ll be backing that with BetVictor.
Luxembourg v Ukraine | Saturday 17:00 | Sky Sports Interactive
Some of the European minnows are definitely worth siding with on the handicap markets, and that’s the path I’ll follow with Luxembourg on Saturday.
The Red Lions rarely get hammered these days and have made things awkward for the likes of Portugal very recently. They beat Northern Ireland in their World Cup qualifying group and so far in this campaign have taken points off Belarus.
Ukraine have managed to pick up six points from their three qualifying matches, but it’s been hard work. They lost at home to Slovakia on the opening matchday and a good win in Belarus was followed by a plodding 1-0 home victory over Macedonia. These guys ain’t superstars!
Luxembourg managed to draw with Belarus in September and followed that up with a narrow 3-2 loss in Macedonia. This is a side who are tough to break down and are a real thorn in the side of bigger opponents. I’m happy to back them with a two goal start in this match at 21/20 with Bet 365.
Best Bets
Austria v Russia – Austria to win (19/10 BetVictor)
Luxembourg v Ukraine – Luxembourg +2 (21/20 Bet365)
TOPICS European Football Football International Football Tips
