International Accumulator: Malta head 134/1 friendly fivefold

Betting on international friendlies is a dangerous game to play but can prove profitable if you tread carefully. The Ladbrokes News team have sounded out the safest selections of the midweek fixtures and, should they prove to be accurate, backers will get paid out to the tune of 134/1.

Norway to beat Ukraine @ 6/4

The Scandinavian outfit look a good price at home given that they haven’t conceded a single goal in any of their previous three outings, nor have they lost a game in any of their last six. Five of these were away from home and, with Ukraine having just two goals to show from their last five games, Norway are surely a sound selection here.

Holland to beat Italy @ 13/10

De Oranje may have failed to win seven of their previous nine non-competitive games but this record still betters that of the Italians. Cesare Prandelli has been particularly experimental in recent friendlies and this has come at the cost of a surplus of defeats. They’ve been turned over in five straight friendly matches and home advantage for the Dutch will see them through here.

Greece to beat Switzerland @ 13/10

The Greeks are in fine fettle coming into this with five wins and a draw from six. They’re sharing the summit of their World Cup qualifying group and haven’t lost a game – friendly or otherwise – on home soil since March 2010. This makes victory a strong possibility against Switzerland, even though the Schweizer Nati will be attempting to preserve an unbeaten run of their own.

Malta to beat Northern Ireland @ 5/2

This is the riskiest selection of the lot due to the fact that the side required to win are, to be frank, not very good. The hope here, though, is that Norn Iron are worse. They may have earned a credible draw in Portugal recently, but that point was book-ended with draws at home to Azerbaijan and Luxembourg. Malta have beaten opponents of similar calibre in San Marino and Liechtenstein of late so they’re capable of coming good here.

France to beat Germany @ 17/10

Germany, being Germany, would be expected to beat France but, surprisingly, the French have an excellent record in international friendlies against their neighbours and that’s what forms the basis of this final pick. In their previous five meetings Les Bleus are yet to lose and have only failed to win on one occasion.

All odds and markets accurate as of publication’s time and date