Euro Qualifiers..... (futures, thoughts, plays)

Question

back in min.

specimen24 · Answer

back in min.

specimen24 · Answer

Euro Qualifiers: tried getting this up earlier in week. too much of an adventure. ran out of time so just going to toss everything up, the heck with editing.

Group A: 3 Lions (of course). id love to see Kosovo in there; but they havent played England yet, and theyre ALREADY behind a pt. thats not good. prices on everything else are cr*p. PASS

Group B: my initial reaction to the table was "Portugal almost evens to win the group is a JOKE". this has nothing to do whether they can/cant; but ehyve played 2 home games; both vs their stiffest competitors (Ukraine/Serbia) and didnt win either of them. and yes, Ronaldo was there. so, technically you are still behind 2 points in the table and still have to travel to the 2 toughest opponents and only pays a shade above evens? cazzo!! but on the flip side of that, for those VERY SAME reasons im fading Finland(below); keeping in mind that this Portuguese team is absolutely loaded with players whom start for top-flight european clubs; of which many were still involved with the UCL/UEL back in March when those home games were played. perhaps not an excuse, but a valid reason, for those draws. and now that its September instead, if you say 120 to win the group is incredible value then you wont get any argument from me. but im PASS anyways.

Group C: dont be fooled. N. Ireland has yet to play Germans nor Holland so theyll be stuck at 12 while those two fly right on by them. prices are cr*p. PASS

Group D: Irish in really good position to advance as theyve already played Denmark to a 1-1 draw on the road. but im in no mood to go against Danes (Switz too come to think of it). with a healthy Eriksen and Parken stadium fortress, no thanks. got cute over-thinking last march by fading Switz when they visited Georgia & got my head served back on a platter. both have yet to play Gibraltar, so thats 6 a piece for each right there. I love these Irish lads, and though theyre in 1st I have to admit this is an uphill battle for them. PASS.

Group E: I think Croats going to be in a dogfight with this Group; 4-digit prices on them to qualify? thye probably will, but geez thats awful juiced for an ageing squad in transition mode.

Hungary to qualify @+125 - a country nobody ever really knows much about; they always seem to kind of fly under the radar. these guys made some noise 3 years ago; making Qualification and then coming out of nowhere to win their Group only to get clobbered by Waffles in KO's. a dip in form and a cr*ppy WCQ run where they were destroyed by Portugal & Switz in all 4 of their matches coming in 3rd by a wide margin. but then since Rossi took over back in June of '18 theyve steadily risen again. 5 straight 'w' at home with the (Nations League + ECQ) already beating the Croats too. when looking at the schedule, I like their chances in this Group. obviously, with an Italian guiding them theyre going to be focused on defense so they should be right there heading into their final match in Cardiff.

specimen24 · Answer

Group J: Bosnia to qualify @&#x2B;175 - I really like this one. and at the very least, set self up for a hedge next month. a friend hammered this one as well; and I agree 200%. first of all, several factors go into this, one of which a buddy actually tracks which is an important factor during qualification processes for the WC/Euros and what not.....scheduling.  but most notably in that 1) I feel Bosnia are the next best team in this Group behind Italy (even FIFA&#x27;s bullcr*p rankings agree with me). Roster is talented with Pjanic(Juve), Kolasinac(Arsenal), and of course Dzeko(Roma). and they are just bloody tough to play against, you just know whats coming when you get a date with those former Yugoslav republics up there.2) Armenia? improving but not quite yet "there".  Greeks? just cant trust these guys on road they could royally scr*w this up tho if everything falls into place. they DO get Bosnia &amp; Italy in Athens still. so radar locked right on Finland sitting pretty at 9 pts; 2 of their 3 wins were vs the creampuffs and they beat a severely depleted and banged up Bosnian squad whom were missing Pjanic, Kolasinic, and a few other regulars. but also, the advantage these Scandinavian teams have is that back in May/June these countries just starting or close to mid-season; players are in "form". Bosnians, Italians, Greeks etc etc seasons are winding down. tired, banged up from the grind.  ESPECIALLY those players coming from top clubs whom make deep UCL runs. you get a trip to Kazakstan, Finland, or Cyprus when your clubmates heading to Camp Nou/Anfield the following week for a KO-Round matchup and you are not going to put forth 100% (see portugal above) so now, all of that is flip-flopped. they have a biggie with Greece this Friday, and probably wont get anything when we pay them a visit on Sunday. Bosnians have very winnable games with Liecht/Armenians. at the very worst, by Monday I expect them to trail by 2 pts.  and they still get the Fins at home next month. i love this one and hope when the dust settles it&#x27;ll come out a &#x27;w&#x27;. Group F:  WANT to take Romanians, this country is on the upside and a lot of talent coming out of those parts. but I think they are two years away, these guys will be in the WC in 3 years. but with this group, they are with Spaniards and Swedes.  Spain running away with it again; Romanians currently tied for 2nd with Sweden but BIG problem for them is they still have to play Spain TWICE, so thats a pretty huge game for them on thursday. so the Swedes with heavy juice to advance looks about right. PASS.Group G:    Austria to qualify @evens - Austrians still get to play Latvians twice; so I dont get this line at all. by the end of next week they&#x27;ll be done with Poland and at the very worst, a point behind. this SHOULD be heavily juiced as they are far superior to Slovenians &amp; Israelis. if Im not mistaken, about 18 of their 23 man roster pick up paychecks from the German Bunde. the ones whom dont have starting spots locked down for their strong domestic teams. the Austrian Bunde is actually one of the most improved leagues in europe the past 5 years too. anyways, plunking a nice amount on this. if it blows up i&#x27;ll still have others to fall back on. Groups H &amp; I = mere formalities. I dont know what the issue is with Iceland but theyve regressed. PASS

specimen24 · Answer

Round 5:Armenia/Italy - (taking off tinted glasses) life w/out Giorgio commences.  ton of last minute roster changes due to injuries/suspensions, im counting 7, might have missed a few. Inigne just announced hes staying home too, along with DeSiglio - whom WAS the one whom would have taken Giorgios spot), Kean &amp; Zaniolo got slapped on the wrist and sent to the corner for bad behavior and arent on squad.  350&#x2B; juice on the road is ridiculous, so is the HC. dont know where books are getting 150 juice for the O/U; we arent getting 3 on thursday. can armenia score? Mancini isnt stupid, Im almost positive theres going to be a formation change (for the time being) with Giorgio out and new faces back there. hardly any prep/practice time so he might toss in a holding-deep mf and have our forwards track back to help out. Azzurri have some breathing room in the table and with that trip to Helsinki coming up this sunday this could be our &#x27;throw-away&#x27; game. it sure as h*ll smells like it but what do I know.  and Armenians arent THAT bad; they gave the bosnians fits and just beat the greeks in athens; plus they are at home &amp; motivated like h*ll (which is something I do not see from our camp ). the &#x2B;1.5 at/near evens looks tasty but I need to wait to see what Mancini does with the lineup/formation.  it doenst matter WHOM is out there, formation trumps lineups.  always. ***EDIT*** ... Chiesa, Bern, Belotti, Jorg, &amp; Verratti starting.... Mancini letting his intentions made clear. this isnt exactly our strongest defensive unit either; with Bonucci taking over Giorgios responsibilities.... im not even going to get into that.  and with Donnarumma back there youre always in for an adventure. it&#x27;s Armenia, but ill be d*mned if we pull off a cleansheet. but 2.5 too juiced so ill take a shot at the HT nicely priced and see if these guys can gel because this is not exactly what I would call a &#x27;tentative&#x27; starting 11. .... over 1.5 @&#x2B;150 (first half) Faroe/Sweden over 2.5 @-125 - acutally think home side can find back of net here, and with the swedes getting a stiff challenge for that 2nd slot theyre going to want to push for goals (or at the very least get the &#x27;w&#x27;). Finland/Greece - well, I have Bosnians getting the 2nd spot out of this group; but at same time do feel the Greeks can get something here; too much is being made of the Fins fine run in form. should take the &#x2B;1/2 to protect self, but asking the Greeks to win anywhere on the road is a tall order. this is bloody risky, but ill take the chance. heres to Settles four-horsemen (but im hoping 5 of them show uo) . Finland/Greece draw @&#x2B;219, BTTS @&#x2B;140Gibraltar/Denmark - Danes sending a full squad, and as long as I ssee Eriksen slated to start this is worth a play as its an obvious cakewalk.  however, im not keen of the full match due to the fact that the name of the game is collecting 3 pts. so a 2-0 or a 8-0 win is no difference; plus they have a LONG flight to Tbilsi in 3 days time vs a Georgian squad basically sitting at home practicing/waiting for them.  so Danes just might shut it off in the 2nd half.Gibraltar/Denmark over 2 @&#x2B;133, Denmark -1.5 @-110 (1st  half)Romania/Spain - Spain might have a tough time here as Romanians a vastly improved side. still not enough to beat them but should be able to find back of net vs a suspect Spain defense as Romanians are an attacking squad in front of their loyal fans.  BTTS @-102 6-day "Creampuff Over Special"  @&#x2B;219Gibraltar/DenmarkSan Marino/WafflesTurkey/AndorraSwitz/GibraltarSan Marino/CyprusFrance/Andorra (3.5)GL to all

WatchMeCover · Answer

Well done on that Armenia/Italy 1st half over mate. Tailed the Denmark play as well. Good luck on the rest of your plays

specimen24 · Answer

Watch

turned out to be a decent evening. Greeks just couldnt get that equalizer.

Armenia/Italy over 1.5 @+150 (W)

Faroe/Sweden over 2.5 @-125(W)

Finland/Greece draw @+219, BTTS @+140 (L, L)

Gibraltar/Denmark over 2 @+133, Denmark -1.5 @-110 (P, W)

Romania/Spain BTTS @-102 (W)

Friday: not much time, will be back later with writeups

Belarus to win @+156

Scotland/Russia over 2.5 @+140

U21:

Wales/Belgium over 2.5 @-133

WCQ:

Comoros/Togo over 2.5 @+170

FIBA: Spain/Italy over 155.5, Italy to win @+215

GL to all

specimen24 · Answer

hit belarus with a late one, but the U21 wasnt as kind. card feels tricky

San Marino/Belgium - for me, big handicaps are frowned upon, but Waffle-Boys.......(laughing); was excited to get some nice value on Batshuayi to score; but then I looked.... -500??? cazzo!!.... hell, Waffles have SEVEN players at 300+ juice for goalscorer. Marino ceded Cyprus 5, Kazaks, 4, Russians 9.... makes me wonder what even a half motivated Belgian team can do; Waffles almost never go all-out vs a creampuff on the road. but if Scotland can put up 20+ shots vs them, well....

San Marino/Belgium over 6.5 @-112

as posted before Scotland/Russia over 2.5 - I just like this one. looking at the logjam in Group I + the schedule is pretty much the reasoning for this play. Scots get a visit from Waffle-boys in 3 days time where they will most likely get their heads served on a platter. so theyre going to have to go for pts here, and most likely open it up because Russians have been scoring goals for fun thus far. so a little suprised this line is where it's at tho somewhat conncerned the Russians simply might just park the bus and be content with a draw, Scotland/Russia over 2.5 @+140, and tossed some on the 3.5 @+350

I cant figure out why Wales is 500 juice at home, so leaving that one alone.

and you can toss in the Croats + Poland in their respective matches as well; Croats still getting WC-love, & Poland (with a full lineup) were outplayed vs Macedonia and tho they won 1-0, they didnt even get a shot on target that match. not backing them on the road till see some decent performances.

Germany/Netherlands smells like a draw, getting a ton of hype though. with that win in Amsterdam the Germans dont need to do much and just get the point as theres still that trip to Belfast in 3 days for 1st place Group status. ditto with Holland.

GL to all

BIGDTITLE · Answer

Waffle boys deciding to give the little guy a chance this afternoon.

icemantbi · Answer

Was considering taking Belgium but saw the line at 6.75 goals and no way will i lay that kind of goal spread.  Really shocked its only 1-0 at HT, and it was only because they got a penalty. Waffle boys on the take perhaps?

DarkDonnie · Answer

Struggling without Hazard

specimen24 · Answer

Dark, Ice, BigD  knew of Martinez&#x27; lineup changes prior; didnt really make much of a difference.  dumb play but took a chance.  "take"? nahh. more of a &#x27;motivation&#x27; thing.  when a squad &#x27;rolls over&#x27; they dont put up 25&#x2B; shots so not really certain what went on down there.  whatever it was, its not good news for Scotland thats for sure.i guess not a good day to be an italian athlete yesterday - rubio (&amp; spain) hit all their FT in final minute. there goes the outright. the &#x2B;5.5. and my chance to hedge a nice Qtr-final with our countrymen. thanks Ricky, you&#x27;re the best. - and for a cherry on top pooled some with a bunch of friends supporting our countryman Berrettini in the tennis semis out there; we took the over 30.5 games.    i&#x27;ll give you one guess what that landed at. finished on the &#x27;&#x2B;&#x27; side with euros againBelarus to win @&#x2B;156 (W)Scotland/Russia over 2.5 @&#x2B;140, over 3.5 @&#x2B;350 (W, L)San Marino/Belgium over 6.5 @-112 (L) U21: Wales Belgium over 2.5 @-133 (L)Saturday: difficulty getting in here, late startKoso vo/Czech BTTS @-105- similar to the Scots yesterday. Kosovo has a trip to England in 3 days time which puts even more of an emphasis to collect pts here. a draw does them no good, not with the Lions on their schedule twice still. Czechs are in decent form and have been scoring so its worth a shot at these prices.Iceland -1.5 @-115 - putting some (misguided) faith into these guys one last time as they should roll here. the only goal Moldovians have score since &#x27;18 (11 roadies) was in San Marino. good friend up that way says his Lions dont do well during &#x27;Tea Time&#x27;. got to give me something better than that. the 2.5 is juiced? no thanks. should roll though. not touching a healthy Portugal side on the road though the draw looks tasty. rest of the matchups are too juiced to consider anything England League I:Wycombe/Lincoln over 2.5 @evensGL to all

averagebettor · Answer

great job

WCI · Answer

Nice work my friend, cashed Iceland with ya

specimen24 · Answer

average  worked out nicely yesterdayWCI   as always. 5th Round complete. Armenia/Italy over 1.5 @&#x2B;150 (W)Faroe/Sweden over 2.5 @-125 (W)Finland/Greece draw @&#x2B;219, BTTS @&#x2B;140 (L, L)Gibraltar/Denmark over 2 @&#x2B;133, Denmark -1.5 @-110 (P, W)Romania/Spain BTTS @-102 (W)Belarus to win @&#x2B;156 (W)Scotland/Russia over 2.5 @&#x2B;140, over 3.5 @&#x2B;350 (W, L)San Marino/Belgium over 6.5 @-112 (L)Kosovo/Czech BTTS @-105 (W)Iceland -1.5 @-115 (W)"Creampuff" Special @&#x2B;219 (L)Wycombe/Lincoln over 2.5 @evens (W)Round 6: tricky matchups, this Round. could be one of those banana-skin days. we&#x27;ll see.Armenia/Bosnia - tricky one for Bosnia, but with Finland possibly dropping pts vs Italy they have a good shot at pulling within 3 at the very least, so plenty of motivation. Bosnians had an easy time with Liecht whereas Armenians had to play the entire 2nd half with 10 men vs Italy, so theyre fortunate to get to play 2 straight at home with a short turnaround. but I think that short turnaround comes back to hurt them as their bench depth isnt strong.   Bosnia to win @-105, over 2.5 @-110(smaller)Romania/Malta - Romanians unfortunate to not get a draw vs spain as Kepa (GK) made one h*ll of a save the final minutes. home side still has a shot at advancing (they get swedes &amp; norway @home still); and those two play later in evening tonight as well. not a big fan of large HC&#x27;s but they should thump this Malta squad rather easily; which they did already in Malta. Romania -1.5 @&#x2B;125(half), Romania/Malta over 1.5 @-102 (half)Romania/Malta over 3.5 @&#x2B;102Finland/Italy - this feels like a &#x27;bleh&#x27; game, which is fine with us as headed to the Grand Prix.  dont know whom Mancini going to send out there, he hasnt really said anything; Verratti is suspended due to cards so we&#x27;ll have different midfield. with Serie A just starting I dont think many of the players give a cr*p about this one. well, last time we played them Giorgio was around and &#x27;suprise suprise&#x27; our customary 2-0 final result. conceded 0 corners and just 1 shot on target. but that was back in March. i simply cannot see us keeping a clean sheet. Finnish coach told the media they will park it and play defensively; itd be stupid not to; yes, they can catch us in table but the more important thing for them is to stay 3 ahead of Bosnia before their biggie next month. I never listen to coaches talking to the media anyways. in any case, this smells like a draw and worth a small play Finland/Italy draw @&#x2B;250.Georgia/Denmark - Danes superior team, and need to win this one at all costs. but thats a long flight theyve had to make and playing an opponent whom has been sitting there all week waiting for them. Georgians are tough at home but this is a big step up in class for them.  suprised the prices arent juiced because Danes have a hard time keeping cleansheets on road. Georgia/Denmark over 2.5 @&#x2B;120GL to all

specimen24 · Answer

sometimes I wonder how those Formula drivers adapt/adjust to normal life. i wonder if they are 'safe' drivers' in normal life

excellent day yesterday.

had i stuck with initial gut Id be a genius...but then my melon got in the way. youd think by now I'd get certain situations thru thy thick skull.

Bosnia to win @-105, over 2.5 @-110 (L, W)

Romania -1.5 @+125(half), Romania/Malta over 1.5 @-102 (half) (L, L)

Romania/Malta over 3.5 @+102 (L)

Finland/Italy draw @+250 (L)

Georgia/Denmark over 2.5 @+120 (L)

so im going with initial guts today, another banana-skin day? we'll see, if it blows up in my face again then so be it. a little "help" from a friend to push me over the edge of the cliff for the first one.

*** this doesnt guarantee anything, but keep in mind that domestic seasons resume again on the wknd, and the UCL gets in gear next Tuesday. though didnt get to see any of the matches yesterday, friends were saying a lot of uninspired/unmotivated performances from the bigger countries doing just enough to get by. agree with the fact that for many of these players, the last thing they want to do is pick up an injury ***

Azerbajan/Croatia - dont like all this juice with Croats. fyi, Croats have been absolutely brutal the past 2 years on these short 3-day turnarounds (be it Qualifiers, Friendlies, or what not)- especially on road:

Croatia 1 - Tunisia 2

Hungary 2 - Croatia 1

England 2 - Croatia 1

Croatia 2 - Jordan 1

Spain 6 - Croatia 0

Mexico 0 - Croatia 1

Greece 0 - Croatia 0

Ukraine 0 - Croatia 2

Turkey 1 - Croatia 0

Estonia 3 - Croatia 0

Azer nothing to write home about, this group is actually pretty bad having conceded 12 already. but they strolled into Zagreb last march and had an early lead & was actually level up until the 80th minute before losing 1-2; tho Croats totally dominated that match as Azer obviously parked the bus after getting to 1-0 lead. so I'll take a small shot at the 1.5 with '+' money. Azerbajan +1.5 @+112, Azer/Croatia over 2.5 @-127

back later with the others.

GL to all

cdubs1222 · Answer

hey speciman! &#xA;awesome insight you bring to the table, i was wondering if you had any notes for the games that kick off in 30 mins? or should we just stay away?

specimen24 · Answer

Scotland/Belgium - line stinks to the high heavens but Belgium coming in with lineup changes. Waffles have 1) a lineup loaded with 'big-boy' clubs whom will be soon be starting their domestic & UCL adventures in the coming week 2) theyre practically already qualified/advanced in the group so this 'smells' like a bad spot to be backing them vs an opponent playing in front of their fans and in a must-win scenario. but even through all scenarios the past 2-3 years, Waffles have been cleansheeted just once in around 40 games. dont care whom is/isnt in there for Belgium; if/when they do score, Scots are going to have to open it up as they need the 3 pts. and this is a decent price because of that.

Scotland/Belgium over 2.5 @-133.

Poland/Austria - a "biggie" when you consider Slovenians have a winnable match vs Israel; a logjam at the top. Poland are very, very very good on these short turnarounds the past several years(non-friendlies); 10-4-1 (that only loss was to Italy; some of those draws were to Germany, Ireland, and Portugal). and with that loss the other day, the prices on them are nice. but I have the austrians advancing out of group, and losing at home already theye going to give a hard time tonight. smelling a draw here; Poland would win the H2H + keep lead at 3, and they get Slovenians at home still. austrians would be thrilled to get a point here and at the very least think they can find back of net so going with the BTTS @-115

Russia/Kazakhstan - a big HC, but kind of like it. as far as motivation goes, Russians always enjoy beating the cr*p out of their former republics. but they also alread ybeat them 4-0 on the road in reverse fixture with 60%+ possession. Kazaks couldnt even beat Andorra, Latvia, or Cyprus on road so dont expect much here in Moscow either. Russia -2 @-105

Hungary/Slovaika - Hungary been pretty much sitting at home all week waiting for this one whilst Slovaks coming in getting destroyed 3 days ago. home side playing well in front of their fans on a 5 game unbeaten streak vs opponents similar in strength. looking for another narrow win here. Hungary to win @+125

Latvia/Macedonia - this is actually the one play feel most strongly about for this evening.

not only are the Latvians bad, they have somewhat of an injury concern. but in any case, Macedonians are the far better squad here and though its on the road a 'w' can still put them close to the 2nd slot of their Group for next month. already beat them at home 3-1 as Macedonians a much improved nation. Macedonia -1 @-105, 1st half over 1 @evens

GL to all

WatchMeCover · Answer

Love the Russia and Macedonia picks  BOL spec

CodyBanks · Answer

GL Spec....threw a little bit on San Marino &#x2B;2.5 (As i type this they&#x27;re literally already losing haha) but would never want anyone else to tail that LOL. Haven&#x27;t been in here in about a week now, didn&#x27;t get to see your thoughts on that Juve/Napoli thriller a few weeks ago. I&#x27;m sure you were happy when it was done and we escaped on an OG, but I know you are probably still not satisfied with them

DarkDonnie · Answer

Poland and Austria have hit the post

BIGDTITLE · Answer

classic Monday where nothing makes sense.

specimen24 · Answer

cdubs

watch

Cody good to see ya around.

im sure youll be firing them up soon enough. that match last week was a crazy ending; we'll see how they cope with Giorgios loss; that type of injury he has, a 23-yrd old would have a hard time coming back from, never mind a 35 yr old whoms been playing professionally for almost 2 decades. expect to see quite a few matches like that this season.

BigD

what makes these qualifiers soo tough is having to deal with the motivation side of everything too. dont think I saw Modric sprint the entire match ystday; Waffles with all that firepower up front get 2 goals from defenders?

by the way, the SAD thing of Intls is that theres no Young Boys for us to get excited about

(i remember your post somewhere)

suprised with Hungary result but a big 'w' with Macedonia to get back on '+' side of things.

Azerbajan +1.5 @+112, Azer/Croatia over 2.5 @-127 (W, L)

Scotland/Belgium over 2.5 @-133 (W)

Poland/Austria BTTS @-115 (L)

Russia -2 @-105 (L)

Hungary to win @+125 (L)

Macedonia -1 @-105, 1st half over 1 @evens (W, W)

not even going to attempt starting a new thread so will add these here. going to start with the kiddies and round the world:

(U21 Qualifiers)

Italy/Luxembourg - big line/spread and all; our first match since hosting Euros last June. key thing here is Kean & Zaniolo are on this squad. both were slapped on wrist for behavior last June and dropped from the Mens team (and in Keans case, starting for our Mens team); ignore the news reports, this is the 'Old Guard powers-to-be' ways of flexing their muscles. so a lot to prove from both of them. Lux are a decent side and have improved, but we are just on a different level. Italy/Lux over 4.5 @+112

(Tailing)

Denmark/Romania - was told this line is waaaay off. Romanians were the darlings of Europe last June in their Semi-final run; blew away Croats & England, draw with a talented French side, and gave Germans all sorts of h*ll in Semis. 6 of those players, whom were the basically the backbone of the whole team are now currently with the Mens side (Hagi, Rus, Puscas, Radu, Stefan, Cicaldau). Denmark has most of their team intact from last June (they also qualified for Euros and barely missed out on advancing due to tiebreaker rules). not fond of plunking too much with kiddies but got to tail this one & hopefully get the evening started properly. Danes to win @-111.

WC Asia:

Yemen/Saudi Arabia over 2.5 @-130

WC Africa:

Angola/Gambia over 2 @-105, over 2.5 @+170

Rwanda/Seychelles over 1.5 @+135(half), over 3.5 @+160

back later with the last of EC Qualifiers

GL to all

specimen24 · Answer

nice start to the evening. done watching our kiddies put on an offensive show; hoping Danes can hold on for the sweep

Euro Qualifiers: not a fun card, thats for sure. last round before everyone goes back to their domestic clubs & 'normalcy' can return. sticking with my initial first thoughts/guts and see how it unfolds.

(this is just one of those angles I love taking shots with. no guarantees)

Albania/Iceland - Albania, as expected, were recently thumped in Paris. Iceland gave me a nice 'w' with their home win over Moldova. not sure if I agree with this line; firstly, like Denmark just had to do a few days ago, this is a LONG flight Iceland had to make; and to make matters worse, the match isnt being held in Albanias regular city/stadium (its in Elbasan); so you can tack on another 90 minutes just to get there. secondly, when these two played back in June with full lineups & no red-cards tho Iceland won 1-0, Albania dominated posession/corners/shots etc. lastly, temps in albania are a peachy 32C (90's) this time of year, Reykjaviks HIGHs are 11C(50's), thats a heck of a swing with short rest. not sure if I should be trusting this Iceland squad. going to take a shot with a motivated live dog here vs an opponent whom might fade in the heat. Albania pick @+120, to win @+220 (small) Albania TT over 1 @+125 - Iceland have kept a cleansheet on the road just once in past two years (Andorra).

Moldava/Turkey - the ONLY reason im taking this is because its near evens. after that cr*pshow needing an 89th minute goal to beat Andorra 1-0 I just get the feeling Turks come out and put this one to bed early. Moldavans might even find the back of net here, which makes this even more the better.

Moldava/Turkey over 2.5 @+102

England/Kosovo - first thought was: "EPL resumes. UCL on deck. already IN 1st place with a game in hand. do the Lions even care here?" but was warned to go lightly. FA scheduled this game away from Wembley (if im not mistaken I think Portsmouth??) tongue-in-cheek --- I guess Lions trying to build a fan base.

anyways, back in Nov Lions had a meaningless final UNL match vs Croats with 1st place already clinched yet Southgate put out Harry & practically a full-stremgth squad & won 2-1. might not sound like much but Lions seem to be much different attitude than those teams of years past. so this makes me nervous. Kosovo coming off a huge,huge win vs the Czechs and in 2nd (hoping they can advance). not exactly the stiffest of competition and skillwise theyre playing someone about 2-3 levels higher but still... theyre on a 15 match unbeaten run. obviously, I think that run ends tonight but still think they have a decent enuff of a defense to keep this within the #. damn risky tho. Kosovo +2.5 @-105. and the only way I can see this happening is if they score - something theyve managed to do in 14 of those 15 games; getting 200+ for this is nuts, especially with VAR around nowadays. BTTS @+225

GL to all

CodyBanks · Answer

Spec agree with you on Giorgio. He&#x27;s tough as nails though and if anyone is going to come back from that type of injury it&#x27;s him. Agree it definitely hurts them though, especially with the rise in quality in Champs league. I think they will come together though, they always seem too. As ugly as that win against Napoli was, it was a big one, and should hopefully give them some momentum.&#xA; &#xA;GL on your plays. Love the angle on the Albania match. I&#x27;d side with you there if I played that game. GL man

specimen24 · Answer

Cody, most already knew this was to be his final season so the transition was going to start, especially with the Azzurri. the only thing I feel bad about - for any athlete - is to be able to leave on their own terms and not something dictated by injury. deLigt going to be under a microscope.

geez , hit the BTTS in 7 minutes?

thank you Lions, you may proceed with the blowout now.

Euro Qualifiers..... (futures, thoughts, plays)

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