Round 2 of UEFA World Cup qualifying continues this weekend and there have already been some surprises, the Netherlands were shocked by Turkey 4-2 in round 1, while world champion France drew with Ukraine 1-1, so nothing is given.
Looking ahead to Round 2 the Netherlands now have a must win game early on against Latvia on Saturday March 27. While on March 28th Albania and England will match wits as both teams look to solidify their positions in Group I.
The oddsmakers at DraftKings have called Netherlands and England as favorites in their respective matches. You can’t argue there, but there could be a few surprises in store, so we will examine a few betting options for these matches.
Netherlands vs Latvia
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On paper this match is a no brainer, the Netherlands are -3335 favorites, to Latvia’s +4000. The wild card here is the Orange machine, as Frank de Boer’s side has played uncommonly bad under their new manager. It’s important to note that de Boer was recently let go by MLS side Atlanta United, arguably the deepest squad in MLS, for poor performances.
While a Latvia win seems out of the question a draw could be a wild yet rewarding bet, at +1300 a $50 bet will win the bettor $700. This game really comes down to just how good or bad the Dutch will play. It’s a game to avoid specific picks as Latvia could surprise many and score an opening goal or get run off the field. Live betting on this game will be key to make some good cash along the way.
Albania vs England
England will have a tough first game against Croatia, they then travel to play underdog Albania (+1100) away. That could be an x factor for this game, if England were to drop points in match day 1, then a draw +425 does not look like a bad result for the English away from home.
The correct score line could be an interesting bet as a 2-0 result in favor of England pays out +460 and could be a safe bet. The over/under could be an interesting option as well and at over 2.5 is paying out +102 which again could be a safe bet. If England can open the flood gates in this one, it’s reasonable to think they will score more than 2 goals.
Parlays
An interesting parlay where one might have nothing to lose and everything to gain would be a draw between Netherlands and Latvia and an England win, if the bettor bets as low as $20 the winnings would be $355. Not bad considering the Netherlands have been messy with de Boer as manager.