Northern Ireland v Lithuania betting tips: Baraclough boys going for second win
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N Ireland v Lithuania betting tips and preview
Thursday’s World Cup qualifiers at Windsor Park pits together two nations who are out of the running for a top-two place in Group C.
Back to-back defeats against Switzerland and Bulgaria ended Northern Ireland’s hopes of booking their flight to Qatar, so they are effectively playing for third place.
Ian Baraclough’s side are 4/9 favourites to win in Belfast on Friday night but let’s examines some of the other options in our N Ireland v Lithuania betting tips.
Match Odds
Fourth-placed Northern Ireland have just five points after six games, two clear of bottom-of-the table Lithuania, the team they crushed 4-1 in Vilnius two months ago for their only victory.
Northern Ireland are 13/10 and 17/5 to win by two or three-goal margins respectively while a home win and goals at both ends is available at 29/10.
Three of Lithuania’s four goals in qualifying came in a surprising 3-1 victory over Bulgaria which means they have failed to score in five of their seven matches, so we go 21/20 on the hosts winning to nil.
🎥 Manager Ian Baraclough has introduced two new faces to his squad to face Lithuania and Italy 👇🏻 #GAWA pic.twitter.com/ZbfjtHwYeZ
— Northern Ireland (@NorthernIreland) November 4, 2021
Northern Ireland can also be backed at 5/4 to be leading at half-time and full-time as they were in the Lithuanian capital while winning both halves again is available at 13/5.
Friday’s match will be Lithuania’s final group game, losing all three away games without scoring, two of which were 1-0 defeats by Bulgaria and Switzerland, so we go 21/5 on a repeat of that scoreline.
The hosts to win or draw, score at least twice and keep a clean sheet is available at 2/1 in our N Ireland v Lithuania betting tips.
Talking Tactics
Baraclough played three at the back in a 3-5-2 when the nations clashed at the start of September and the Northern Ireland coach is expected to line up his players in similar fashion on Friday.
Brothers Jonny and Corry Evans have been recalled after recovering from injuries and with little depending on the game, Baraclough has drafted in 17-year-old Nottingham Forest striker Dale Taylor and Reading goalkeeper Luke Southwood.
Preston’s Ali McCann and Manchester United’s Ethan Galbraith, on loan at Doncaster, is also back but Shayne Lavery is still injured while Hearts striker Liam Boyce remains unavailable for personal reasons.
Lithuania played a 4-2-3-1 against Northern Ireland in which Edgaras Dubickas was the sole striker but Karolis Laukzemis is expected to lead the line on Friday.
Goalscorer Odds
Josh Magennis and Conor Washington head the first goalscorer market at 10/3 and 7/2 while they are 11/8 and 7/5 to find the net in our N Ireland v Lithuania betting tips.
Daniel Ballard broke the deadlock in Vilnius and is 16/1 to repeat the trick or 13/2 to score while Paddy McNair is 13/5 to get on the scoresheet as he did from the penalty spot in September.
Fedor Cernych scored a double for Lithuania against Bulgaria and is 10/1 and 4/1 in the two markets while Justas Lasickas is 25/1 to bag the opening goal once more or 10/1 to find the net.
Match Info
Where: Windsor Park, Belfast
When: 19:45, Friday 12th November
How to watch: Sky Sports
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
