Portugal v Northern Ireland predictions

Match	Date	Selection	Bet	Odds	Bet now
Portugal v Northern Ireland predictions World Cup Qualifiers, International	16/10/2012 20:45	total goals	Under 2.5 goals	2.95	Bet at Betfair
Betting prediction was written by Dan Adair

PORTUGAL - NORTHERN IRELAND PREDICTIONS AND PREVIEW: BETTING STATS

2012 Form:
Portugal P11 W6 D2 L3 GF15 GA9 GD+6 - Average goals per game: 2.18
Northern Ireland P5 W0 D2 L3 GF4 GA15 GD-11 - Average goals per game: 3.80

TEAM NEWS AND RUN OF PLAY

Portugal return to Lisbon with another defeat and another limp performance. They have opened the group with two unconvincing wins 2-1 away at Luxembourg and 3-0 at home to Azerbaijan. Three goal victory it may have been but this was a poor performance against a team who are rubbish away from Baku. In Russia they conceded early on in the game. They lost Fabio Contreao in the opening minutes to injury and he will not feature in this game. Nani and Ronaldo were poor and both players spent more time throwing their hands in the air than actually trying to play football. The midfield were lifeless and Helder Postiga was an anonymous figure up front. Centre backs Bruno Alves and Pepe played like they had never met before and the only player to gain credit was Moutinho. Portugal will need to improve if they wish to gain qualification as only the top team goes through and there are stringent terms for runners up. Midfielder Raul Meireles sits out.
Northern Ireland are on a dire run and have only won once since September 2012. This run of 15 games includes 11 defeats. Northern Ireland have dropped in quality over the last few years and are no longer able to compete. In recent years they have seen England, Slovenia (twice) Denmark and Poland all beaten but at present they are struggling to even see off the likes of Luxembourg. In the last match The Irish scored but could not kill off the plucky part timers. Luxembourg grabbed an equaliser in the dying minutes and took off with a point. Midfielder Grant McCann and defender Alex Bruce have returned to their clubs.Manager Michael O'Neill has not called up any replacements at this stage.

PORTUGAL - NORTHERN IRELAND PREDICTIONS: 1X2 BETTING PREVIEW

1.10 Portugal (Betvictor) to get the win and get back on track in the group. They must put the loss to Russia behind them and three points against all the lesser teams in this group is a must. Northern Ireland will battle and scrap for everything but they have lost the spark they used to have and will be a pushover here. Expect Portugal to totally dominate the play and have the lions share of possession, Northern Ireland will be putting up a strong defence but they have little else but set pieces and long balls to rely on.

CLICK HERE To bet 1.10 Portugal (Betvictor)

PORTUGAL – NORTHERN IRELAND PREDICTIONS: ASIAN HANDICAP PREVIEW

Northern Ireland +2 is the pick here (2.53 Pinnacle) It might seem a bit odd suggesting a massive outsider with the handicap but there is value to be had here. Punters are usually loathe to backing against the short prices so bookmakers factor this in to handicap and weight the lines to the favourites. Portugal are not a side that tends to destroy teams like a Germany or Netherlands, against the lower ranked sides they just tend to do enough to win. If we look back over the last few years and in games against the minnows Portugal failed to beat Cyprus, Macedonia and Cape Verde and only had one goal victories against Luxembourg and Albania. Northern Ireland will be a 8 or 9 man defensive wall and with a 2 goal cushion the odds are value here.

CLICK HERE To bet 2.53 Northern Ireland +2 (Pinnacle)

For those not familiar with Asian Handicaps or if you want an indepth explanation of all outcomes check in here:

Asian Handicaps Explained

PORTUGAL – NORTHERN IRELAND PREDICTIONS: TOTAL GOALS PREVIEW

Under 2.50 2.95 (Betfair) is the bet here. Again it looks a bit of a gamble given the match odds but both sides keep things really tight. Portugal tend to do just enough in their games and Northern Ireland are a capable defensive unit. With little attacking threat the Irish should not trouble the scorer. In the last 10 games for both sides Unders has prevailed 6 out of 10 matches. 2.95 seems a great price for what is basically Ireland avoiding a 3 goal defeat.

CLICK HERE To bet Under 2.5 goals at 2.95 (betfair)