INTERNATIONAL football expert Ben Levene (@benlevene96) shares his betting thoughts on Thursday night's Nations League action.
Czech Republic v Ukraine | Thursday 6th September 2018, 19:45 | Sky Sports
The Czech Republic were less than convincing during World Cup qualification and were held by the likes of Azerbaijan, Northern Ireland and Norway.
Karel Jarolim’s side are as short as 8/15 and for me that’s far too short. Ukraine are 11/8 with the draw out of the equation, and that’s something I’m keen to take advantage of.
Striker-turned-politician-turned-manager, Andriy Shevchenko boasts a 53% win ratio since taking charge in July 2016.
Ukraine finished behind Croatia and Iceland in qualification. Excluding those sides, their record read W5-D1-L0. They’re also five friendlies unbeaten.
Ukraine are clearly a tough cookie and they are the more settled side of the two. The experienced wide duo Yevhen Konoplyanka and Andriy Yarmolenko thrive for their country and could prove the difference here.
Ukraine Draw no Bet is 11/8 with Betfair.
Norway v Cyprus | Thursday 6th September 2018, 19:45 | Sky Sports
Given Norway’s rich pool of talent and the number of players plying their trade amongst Europe’s finest, it’s astonishing that they haven’t appeared at a major tournament since 2000.
Lars Lagerback was part of the duo who masterminded Iceland’s run to the quarter-finals of Euro 2016 and is now tasked with transforming the Norweigan national team.
Whilst they didn’t qualify for the 2018 World Cup, they notched in seven of their last eight qualifiers. Mohamed Elyounoussi has looked lively since joining Southampton and along with Josh King and Alexander Sorloth, makes The Lions are a danger. They should have enough to see off Cyprus.
Cyprus were poor travellers in World Cup qualification, losing four of five away games. The exception came with a 2-1 win over Gibraltar, who according to FIFA rankings are Europe’s 2nd worst side behind San Marino.
They’ve also failed to win four consecutive friendlies – against Georgia, Armenia, Montenegro and Jordan.
Norway to win in a game featuring Over 1.5 Goals is a generous 5/6 with Betfair.
Best Bets
Czech Republic v Ukraine – Ukraine draw no bet (11/8 Betfair)
Norway v Cyprus – Norway to win and Over 1.5 Goals (5/6 Betfair)
