Croatia v England Match Programme || Croatia v England, Ukraine v Scotland, Wales, Ireland Match Previews

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CROATIA v ENGLAND, UKRAINE v SCOTLAND, WALES IRELAND PREVIEWS

We normally tread carefully on international action given the relative lack of form to go on but just sometimes a price stands out like a sore thumb and that's the case in Wednesday night's Euro 2008 qualifiers.

For Croatia are odds-against in the 'draw no bet' market for their Group E clash with England in Zagreb and that looks massive value.

On the one hand we have a Croatian outfit playing in front of 40,000 of their own fanatical fans with just about the best home record in world football.

They are unbeaten in 16 years in competitive matches on home soil - indeed their only defeat since gaining their independence in 1990 came in a friendly with then world champions and soon-to-be European champions France in 2000.

Are England - yet to really convince under Steve McClaren, weakened by injuries and suspensions and coming into the match on the back of a frustrating goalless draw with Macedonia at the weekend - really the side to snap that record?

Even the limited evidence of qualification so far points us the Croats' way as they hammered Andorra 7-0 while England had to settle for five goals.

And while Croatia may not have the household names which helped them finish third in the 1998 World Cup there are real signs that they are building a promising new generation under Slaven Bilic.

He's already illustrated his talents - and worked with many of the current crop of players - at under 21 level so there's no concern that he's a relative rookie at this level either.

Even if England had been at the peak of their powers they'd have found it tough to get much out of this trip but in their current state an away win looks way beyond them.

They were seriously lacklustre at Old Trafford at the weekend, with key man Wayne Rooney still struggling for top form, and must now make do without the driving force of Steven Gerrard after his yellow card.

All the talk about a 3-5-2 or 4-4-2 formation is relatively meaningless if there's no cutting edge up front and that's the case at present.

It would be no surprise to us if McClaren sets his stall out for a goalless draw as he's constantly stressed the need to win at home and pick up a point away and that's partly the reason we're going for the draw no bet market rather than taking the 2/1 about a home win .

Indeed we'll also go a step further and suggest a small interest in no goalscorer at 13/2 in places.

Skipper John Terry was quick to call this England's biggest away test for three years since the Euro 2004 qualifier with Turkey in Istanbul and given the hostile nature of the crowd that's a fair comparison.

A terrific defensive performance secured a 0-0 draw - and qualification - on that occasion and something similar might just be on the cards here because it's hard to criticise England's back four.

You have to go back to the final group game at the World Cup for the last goal they conceded and that's a record that must be respected.

While England came in for plenty of flak at the weekend, all the plaudits were being directed at Walter Smith and Scotland.

They made it three wins out of three to top Group B with a superb 1-0 success over France at Hampden, one of the best results in their history.

And the Tartan Army now bid to extend that 100% record when they travel to the Ukraine to take on Andriy Shevchenko and co.

The bad news for Scotland is that Chelsea striker Sheva is fit to play after a recent virus and his importance shouldn't be underestimated - as even Smith would acknowledge.

The Scotland boss said: "He is not just another player, he is an exceptionally good player.

"Ukraine have a lot of good, professional players and one absolutely outstanding one."

However the good news for the visitors is that this season has been a struggle so far for Shevchenko since his move to Chelsea and the virus that kept him out of the weekend defeat to Italy is unlikely to have left him in tip-top shape.

It will be fascinating to see how the Scots react to their weekend heroics and, as with England's match in Croatia, we reckon the goalless draw is a distinct possibility.

Because although Scotland beat France at the weekend it was no surprise to see the winning goal come from a set-piece given the way Smith set his team up.

And while they'll miss the experience of the suspended Christian Dailly at the back there's no doubt their strength at the moment is with the defence.

A draw in Kiev would definitely maintain the momentum and given the misfiring nature of Shevchenko at present there's every reason to expect the Scots to be up to the task, making 8/1 about no goalscorer the way to go.

We'll now move on to Wales and the Republic of Ireland - both of whom are still pointless in Group D after shocking weekend defeats.

It's hard to say which was worse - Wales' 5-1 capitulation at home to Slovakia or Ireland's 5-2 thumping in Cyprus.

But the Welsh have the easier task as they look to bounce back as they welcome the Cypriots to Cardiff while Steve Staunton's Republic side have to take on the Czech Republic at Lansdowne Road.

But we're certainly not going to make the mistake of thinking Wales' task is as straightforward as quotes as short as 4/9 (and no better than 4/7) suggest.

As if Saturday's events weren't evidence enough, Wales were clearly second best when they were beaten 1-0 by Cyprus in Limassol last November in what at that point was their worst performance under John Toshack.

We have to admit we aren't big Toshack fans but in fairness to the Welsh boss he is at least sticking with his policy of blooding the youngsters and it's going to take time to reap the dividends.

Playing at home on Wednesday isn't necessarily an advantage though because the Cardiff crowd clearly seem to be losing patience as Saturday's 28,493 attendance was the lowest for a competitive match in five years.

And a heaviest home defeat in 98 years is hardly going to bring the missing punters flooding through the turnstiles!

That 5-1 scoreline was a fraction harsh on Wales but it's still a surprise that Cyprus are as big as 11/2 to deepen the gloom because anyone who saw that clash between the sides at the backend of last year will know that there's isn't a gulf between them - and there's also no doubt which team comes into this full of confidence.

Again though we'll play slightly safer and take the 7/2 in Victor Chandler's draw no bet list because Cyprus were hammered in their last away trip against Slovakia so it might pay not to get too carried away.

One of the few positives from Saturday's defeat for Wales was the cracking free-kick which made 17-year-old Gareth Bale his country's youngest-ever scorer.

And anyone who has been watching Southampton this term - for whom he's repeated the feat in two of his six Championship matches - will know just what a threat he is from set-pieces.

But there's a suspicion the bookies haven't quite latched on to that fact yet so we'll have a saver bet on Bale finding the net again at some point during the game at 11/2 with Bet Direct even though it slightly contradicts the outright advice.

We reckon the misery could continue for the Republic of Ireland too when they welcome the Czech Republic to Dublin.

The Czechs have won three out of three including a 3-0 success away to Slovakia and even the loosest appraisal of the group form so far puts them streets ahead of Wednesday's opponents.

Ireland really do look to be reeling at present, a point illustrated if we put Saturday's mauling in Cyprus into perspective for they'd won the previous five meetings against the Cypriots by a combined aggregate score of 18-0.

Manager Steve Staunton faces a huge job in trying to rebuild shattered confidence, especially as the injury problems are mounting up.

Surely the most significant absentee is Shay Given who was badly missed at the weekend, the first competitive international the Newcastle goalkeeper has been forced to watch from the sidelines for five years.

His replacement Paddy Kenny has now injured his hamstring and misses out while three of the back five who played in front of him on Saturday are among a staggering 14 players in total on the treatment table for the visit of the Czechs.

It all strongly suggests the 11/10 against the visitors is one of the best bets of the night.

We're finding Northern Ireland's match with Latvia altogether harder to weigh up.

It's been a rollercoaster ride for Northern Ireland fans after the 3-0 loss at home to Iceland was followed by an incredible 3-2 victory over Spain and a hugely creditable goalless draw away to Denmark at the weekend.

Latvia's form is similarly up and down - a 1-0 defeat at home to Sweden coming before a 4-0 victory at home to Iceland.

We'll leave well alone therefore and instead focus attention on Germany's trip to take on Slovakia as we're sorely tempted by the even money on an away win.

For the Germans have stretched the feelgood factor they generated at the World Cup despite a managerial change.

Since Joachim Low took over from Jurgen Klinsmann in July, Germany have yet to concede a goal and have netted 19 times in four games.

The evens therefore initially looked big but this does represent their toughest test to date.

And the fact that Slovakia beat them 2-0 in a warm-up game prior to the World Cup and have a trio of Bundesliga stars in their ranks is just enough to put us off, especially as Nurnberg pair Marek Mintal and Robert Vittek were both on target against Wales.

By Bettingzone.co.uk
Used with permission.

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