The in-play guide to France vs Romania
There aren't as many televised weekend TV games to choose from due to the international schedule but the one we've chosen to devote our live preview to is a fascinating one, as France host Romania on Saturday evening in a match that neither team can afford to lose, or arguably even draw.
Much to our delight, ESPN have chosen to screen this Euro 2012 qualifier, one of two taking place on Saturday rather than in the new Friday night slot. The nations met twice in World Cup qualifying with both clashes finishing level, however draw odds of [3.85] show that a point does little for either side.
Some of the statistics about the French malaise, which improved somewhat with a 2-0 victory away in Bosnia last month, are quite incredible. In terms of what can be learned for betting in-play, it looks like if they are going to score, they will leave it late.
Les Bleus haven't mustered a first-half goal in seven matches - six of which were goalless at the break - and have only found the net once before the interval in their last dozen encounters.
In two of the last three France games to have featured a first-half strike, the deadlock was broken within 11 minutes. So if there isn't an early goal against Romania, you can back the half-time score to be 0-0 with a reasonable amount of confidence.
Another trend to be aware of is that Romania have had almost no success fighting back after conceding the opener in recent years. Their last come-from-behind win was achieved in a home friendly against Georgia in November 2008 and since then they've recovered a deficit to earn a point just once - and that was when their opponents kindly provided an own goal!
Click here for a pre-match punt, or to suss out how the markets are shaping up...
Published: 9 Oct 2010
Leave a comment