Football betting tips: Friday best bets
2pts Cristiano Ronaldo to score anytime in Slovakia vs Portugal at evens (Unibet)
1pt Both teams to score in Turkey vs Armenia at 5/4 (William Hill)
Slovakia vs Portugal
- Kick-off time: 19:45 BST
- TV channel: Viaplay Sports 2
- Home 13/2 | Draw 10/3 | Away 2/5
James Cantrill (@JimmyThePunt)
Portugal head to Slovakia on Friday evening, exactly the sort of game I imagine CRISTIANO RONALDO will be bang up for.
A chance to add another cap to the collection and potentially a few goals, lists he already tops, and the latter I will be taking a punt on.
Ronaldo has scored 123 goals for his nation, five of which have come in these Euro 2024 qualifiers. This is where he seems to do the majority of his goalscoring with 58% of his international tally coming in qualifiers either for the Euros or World Cup.
The Seleção’s trip to Bratislava is an important one in Group J too. The visitors sit top having taken maximum points from their opening four games. Slovakia are second, two points behind, so victory would see them leapfrog Portugal.
Given the importance of the fixture, Ronaldo’s price TO SCORE ANYTIME appeals.
The even money is certainly value, considering the same bet is as short as 8/13 elsewhere.
Score prediction: Slovakia 1-4 Portugal (Sky Bet odds: 20/1)
Odds correct 1545 BST (06/09/23)
Turkey vs Armenia
- Kick-off time: 19:45 BST
- Home 2/7 | Draw 17/4 | Away 17/2
James Cantrill (@JimmyThePunt)
Armenia sit second in Group D and a win in Turkey (10.5% implied probability) would see them overtake the leaders on goal difference.
The odds may be stacked against an away victory on Friday but the visitors have impressed in their three Euro 2024 qualifiers so far. Oleksandr Petrakov’s side have beaten Wales and Latvia, scoring six goals in the process.
Armenia also found the net in their game with Turkey, a fixture they were unfortunate not to get anything out of. They only had one fewer shot than Turkey (11-12) and created just 0.02 xG fewer.
At odds against with William Hill, backing BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE here looks worth a punt.
Turkey’s only clean sheet came in their most recent game with Wales, and that is more a reflection on the Welsh's poor offensive performance than the Crescent-Stars' defence.
Stefan Kuntz's side shipped five goals in the previous four, including two against Latvia, a nation not ranked inside the top 130.
Score prediction: Turkey 2-1 Armenia (Sky Bet odds: 15/2)
Odds correct 1630 BST (06/09/23)
More from Sporting Life
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.