Denmark v Rep of Ireland: Eriksen can fire Danes to vital win
Published:
t’s crunch time for Europe’s remaining World Cup hopefuls in the play-offs. Denmark host the Republic of Ireland in their first leg on Saturday night, and there’s every reason to believe De Rod-Hvide will see off their opponents.
Age Hareide’s men have won four of their last five games, and are unbeaten in 10. During that sequence, they’ve won four matches by a margin of two or more goals, including a 4-0 hammering of Poland in Copenhagen.
With Ireland stuttering, having won just three of their last nine fixtures, the Denmark -1 handicap could well deliver at 11/5.
One man who’s been at the heart of the Danes good form is Christian Eriksen. The Tottenham Hotspur ace has scored in six successive games for the national side.
He’s 23/10 in the Anytime Scorer market, but we think the real value could be in the 25-year-old to open the scoring for the fourth time in seven games at 6/1.
Eriksen and co. have tended to start games strongly of late, going in ahead at the interval in five of the last six games. We fancy Denmark to lead at half-time at 6/4.
However, with Ireland scoring before the break in three of their previous four matches, Both Teams to Score in First Half could be popular at 6/1.
While we’re tipping up a home win, if you do fancy Ireland to find the net, your money should be on James McClean. The midfielder has scored five times in 10 for the Boys in Green, and is 7/2 to bag another in the Danish capital.
In the match betting, Denmark are 7/10 for victory, with an Ireland win 9/2 and the Draw priced at 23/10.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
