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msudogs
Moderator
Registered: Nov 2005
Posts: 65535
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Colombia vs. Japan, 8 a.m. ET Tuesday, Fox Sports 1
Colombia -133
Japan +496
Draw +257
Bet to Watch:
Colombia -133
News came out on Thursday morning that Colombian star James Rodriguez (known as James) was held out of training. The announcement came as a surprise as there was no indication that James was struggling before the team made the announcement. After looking further into the situation, it seems that he missed the training session due to “muscle fatigue” but still worked through a session at the team’s training facility. I would not expect this injury to be much of an issue and expect James to play with no limitations against Japan.
With James expected to be healthy, this will be one of the first times that Colombia will be in full force for a major tournament match. After missing the 2014 World Cup, Radamel Falcao should be fired up and will look to make his first — and most likely last — World Cup a memorable one.
Japan struggled during qualifying, winning their group by one point ahead of Saudi Arabia. We’ve already seen the major gap in skill between the Asian teams and the rest of the world, so that’s not a ringing endorsement for Blue Samurai.
Japan, however, does have far more talent than Saudi Arabia and the other Asian teams. Most of their players are plying their trade in major leagues around the world, and their talisman, Shinji Kagawa, can make an impact against any opponent.
I expect this game to be fun and open thanks to the free-flowing style that Colombia plays. Los Cafeteros are not just out there to win games, they want to entertain. Colombia’s style and skill should overwhelm Japan, who do not have anyone in the midfield that can contain James in the middle of the park. Maya Yoshida could make life difficult for Colombia’s attackers at times, but overall Japan will struggle to deal with the speed of Juan Cuadrado on the wing and Falcao through the middle. I like Colombia to win this game in style.
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06-19-18 12:44 AM |
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msudogs
Moderator
Registered: Nov 2005
Posts: 65535
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Senegal vs. Poland, 11 a.m. ET Fox
Senegal +259
Poland +135
Draw +217
Bet to Watch:
Robert Lewandowski to score +125
In what is quite possibly the most competitive and evenly matched group on paper, picking a winner from any opening game is always going to be difficult.
Poland are the favorites to get the better of Senegal on Tuesday, but the disparity in outright prices between the sides is among the slimmest from week one in Russia.
Both sides certainly have attacking players of outstanding quality, with the Europeans boasting arguably the best number nine at the tournament in Robert Lewandowski, while their African counterparts have pretty devastating pace and power on the break.
The underdogs in Tuesday’s fixture will certainly be confident of posing real problems to what is now an unsettled Polish defense. Indeed, the injury to key man Kamil Glik just days before the finals has not only stripped Adam Nawalka’s side of its strongest centerback but may well enforce a change in tactic, too.
The coach had been preparing a back three formation for this summer but may now revert to a four, deciding between the youth and greater pace of Jan Bednarek and the experience of Thiago Cionek alongside Michal Pazdan. Either way, a Senegal attack line of Monaco’s Keita Balde, Rennes’ livewire Ismaila Sarr and star man Sadio Mane is among the fastest and most unpredictable in Russia.
Coach Aliou Cisse — who captained Senegal to the quarterfinals back in 2002 — has enviable and imposing options at the back, too, with Schalke-bound Salif Sane and Kara competing to start alongside the mountain that is Kalidou Koulibaly. The man they call K2 at Napoli is among the very best centerbacks in the tournament and will need to be at that very best to keep Lewandowski in check.
That’s easier said than done, however, and the marksman is one of very few strikers who seems to translate his remarkable goal-scoring record at club level to his national side.
Up to and including Poland’s quarterfinal exit to eventual champions Portugal at Euro 2016 the Bayern forward has scored in every one of the 13 matches in which he has played that his side have scored. His goal tally in that time amounts to 21 goals in 15 appearances and sets him apart as the best international striker on the planet at this time.
With that in mind, and despite Senegal undoubtedly carrying a threat of their own, it’s just too difficult to resist a price of +125 on the 29-year-old to score at any time in the match
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06-19-18 12:46 AM |
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msudogs
Moderator
Registered: Nov 2005
Posts: 65535
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Egypt vs. Russia, 2 p.m. ET Fox
Russia +113
Egypt +319
Draw +221
Bet to Watch:
Draw +221
Heading into the World Cup, the pressure was on Russia. The host nation had not won a game since the opener of the 2017 Confederations Cup (a 2-0 win over New Zealand) last June. Luckily, Russia got just what the doctor ordered with an opening game against Saudi Arabia, the worst team in the tournament, and were able to treat their fans (including Vladimir Putin) to a 5-0 victory.
Things will get tougher in their second match as Egypt are a much better side than the Green Falcons. Russia are dealing with injury concerns after Alan Dzagoev left last match with a hamstring problem. Luckily for them Denis Cheryshev, who should probably have been starting anyways, was able to come on and scored what could go down as the goal of the tournament. The injury to Dzagoev shouldn’t have a negative impact — and could possibly help the Sbornaya — if Cheryshev starts.
On the other side of the coin, Mo Salah is playing for Egypt after he suprisingly sat out the Pharoahs’ entire match against Uruguay. I am a bit worried about the Liverpool star’s fitness as the game against Uruguay was set up perfectly for a 75th-minute Salah substitution when the Uruguay back line was clearly exhausted. The fact that he didn’t even really warm up indicates to me he may not be close to 100% for this game against Russia.
Russia knows that a draw will most likely be enough to lift them to the knockout rounds. A win would guarantee it, but a draw should do the trick. It will be a tricky test for Russia to even get the point, because Egypt defend very well as a unit, and Russia are not the offensive dynamo that their 5-0 win over Saudi Arabia indicates. This is a good spot to take advantage of people overreacting to one strong performance by a team, and I think this will be a low-scoring affair and think the draw is a good bet, although Egypt could nick a winner if Salah does in fact play.
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06-19-18 12:46 AM |
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Traderpro
FoxDen Hall of Famer
Registered: Mar 2009
Posts: 4375
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World Cup 6-19
5* Senegal vs Poland Draw +200
These teams look evenly matched.Senegal hasent shown enormous ability to create points in friendly matches and Poland struggles a bit when they step up in competition from 6-1 type thrashings of Armenia. This is likely a 1-1 type game, lets hope we dont get an England and Tunisia last second goal to spoil it. GL
4* Egypt +333 vs Russia
Waited for this one to rise and love the spot for Egypt.Russia obviously did not have to qualify for WC,but not sure what group they would have been successful in had they been in that situation.Egypt does not score a lot of goals but have allowed just 11 in last 10 games overall and against some solid competition.I like Egypt here and a heavy lean to Under as well as I am not sure Russia will score,but will keep it to just two plays.
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06-19-18 04:36 PM |
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Traderpro
FoxDen Hall of Famer
Registered: Mar 2009
Posts: 4375
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Egypy getting steamed late, down to +293 ,wont be surprised to see in +260-70 range before game starts.Eagleseye, good to see you back , we been missing you
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06-19-18 06:36 PM |
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Traderpro
FoxDen Hall of Famer
Registered: Mar 2009
Posts: 4375
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I have missed several winning comps from these guys, just too busy to check them.But caught this one.Too much juice for me. GL
twitter.com/LpwSports
World Cup Free Play 1* Russia/Egypt Under 2.5(-190)
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06-19-18 07:31 PM |
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