The Republic of Ireland host France in their opening Euro 2024 qualifier. Joe Townsend previews the game and provides two best bets.
Football betting tips: Euro 2024 qualifying
1.5pts Under 2.5 goals at evens (BetVictor)
1.5pts France win and under 2.5 goals at 12/5 (SBK)
The Republic of Ireland head into their opening Euro 2024 qualifier in decent form.
Their past seven results read W4 D1 L2, an upturn considering Stephen Kenny won just five of his first 24 matches at the helm. Serious caveats must be applied to that seven-game stretch, however.
Only June's 3-0 win over Scotland has come against anything close to resembling an established footballing nation, with home victories over Armenia and Latvia (both 3-2) sandwiching a 1-0 win in Malta.
France, meanwhile, thumped the Netherlands 4-0 on Friday night.
Kick-off time: 19:45 BST, Monday
TV channel: Viaplay Sports 1
Rep of Ireland 13/2 | Draw 10/3 | France 4/9
It's easy to be caught up in the hype of captain Kylian Mbappe and France, and had he once again been available to score anytime at 11/8 he may well have made this staking plan, but this feels like a fixture where fighting against instinct, just a little, is the smart play.
It's hard to see anything other than a comfortable Les Bleus win, so reaching for the overs, or looking to get Didier Deschamps' team to cover a handicap, might seem like the sound approach; it isn't.
The World Cup runners-up haven't found things to be totally straightforward away from home in recent years.
Losing to Denmark and drawing with both Croatia and Austria in the most recent iteration of the Nations League can be potentially written-off given the array of unpredictable results we saw last summer.
But despite the raft of minnows France have faced since June 2019, their biggest away win in that four-year period is 2-0; Kazakhstan, Finland and Albania were all beaten by that scoreline.
A staggering 11 of their 14 away matches (79%) in that period have seen UNDER 2.5 GOALS, with the three exceptions being matches against Croatia, Spain and Belgium.
The standout 9/10 available on this being the case again should therefore be backed.
As should FRANCE WIN AND UNDER 2.5 GOALS and an incredibly generous price - hence the level stakes.
Double the best prices of those selections yourself and you get a shade under 15/8, so the market-leading 12/5 is strongly advised too.
Rep of Ireland v France best bets and score prediction
- 1.5pts Under 2.5 goals at evens (BetVictor)
- 1.5pts France win and under 2.5 goals at 12/5 (SBK)
Score prediction: Rep of Ireland 0-2 France (Sky Bet odds: 11/2)
Odds correct at 1840 GMT (25/03/23)
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