Weekend Six Pack – Slaying Dragons and dancing to the Samba beat

Each week Rob Hartnett from 188BET.com will bring you six of the best football betting opportunities from the weekend action.  Rob is the public face of leading the leading In Play betting specialists and appears regularly on the Bolton, Wigan, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Liverpool and Everton websites doing betting previews.

We enjoyed four winners from our six selections last weekend for a profit of 70 per cent.  A lovely way to welcome the return of sunshine and spring weather.  Stoke by four, Udinese by two, Wigan by the skin of their teeth and the old Firm Glasgow Rivals by being very polite to each other were the winners.

This weekend the attention turns to international games and we have picked out some bets from a selection of the games you will be able to watch over the next few days.

All the odds quoted are available at time of writing on the In Play specialists, 188BET

March 25^th – 27^th

Italy to beat Slovenia at odds of 2.33

These two sides have played five times and produced a total of only six goals.  A 1-1 draw has been followed up by two 1-0 wins apiece, one at home and one away.  The addition of Thiago Motta to the Italian side will give them confidence and with Slovenia three points behind Italy in the group, I feel they will need to attack, leaving gaps for the away side to expose.

England (-1/1.5) to beat Wales at 2.10

In 1980 Wales beat England by 4-1 in Cardiff.  That is as likely again as a real dragon flying over the stadium and in the absence of Gareth bale, there is very little reason to think that England will be troubled.  Form lines through Bulgaria and Switzerland have this as a walk in the park for the visitors and while it is rarely that for the three lions they are good enough to come through by two goals at odds against with half your stake back if they win by one.

Bulgaria and Switzerland to draw at odds of 3.20

Neither side can afford anything but a win in this game, given the starts that England and Montenegro have made in the group.  Both are lacking in quality though and their last two fixtures ended in draws against Estonia and Malta respectively.  Switzerland exited the World Cup through defending but not being able to break down Honduras in South Africa.  More of the same beckons.

Norway and Denmark to draw at 3.25

Norway could go five points clear with a win after a 100 per cent start in the group.  Their chances of doing so may rest though on the shoulders of Steffan Iversen who has to step up from Crystal palace to the international stage.  Denmark need to avoid defeat having lost to Portugal and can do so without being too adventurous.

Republic of Ireland to win 1-0 or 2-0 at odds of 3.20

Two previous wins at home over Macedonia have been by 1-0 and 3-0 and Ireland need to win to stay in contention in the group having lost at home to Russia.  Macedonia do keep it tight but with Kevin Doyle in good form for Wolves and James McCarthy likely to make his debut there should be enough in the Irish locker to nick this.

Brazil to beat Scotland 1-0 or 2-0 at combined odds of 3.10

Brazil are slower starters than one would imagine.  The average time of their first goal in qualifying for the last World Cup was 51 minutes and while they should come through against Scotland it may take time.  They were scoreless at the break in recent friendlies against France and Argentina but have won nine of their 12 friendly games since 2009 to nil.

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England, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Scotland, Slovenia, Wales, Weekend Six Pack