Betfair Official Blog

European Championship qualifiers betting and odds preview

There will be plenty of betting opportunities for international football followers when the latest round of European Championship qualifiers take place on Saturday September 8.

Most the betting focus will be on England's attempts to move up Group E, when they entertain Israel. Despite their patchy form under Steve McClaren and injuries to Wayne Rooney and David Beckham, the home side are likely to be short odds to win their first qualifier at the new Wembley.

With Peter Crouch suspended, a lot of the betting attention will be on Michael Owen to deliver the goods in front of goal. England have never lost to Israel in three meetings but with pressure on McClaren and Liverpool's Yossi Benayoun in fine form, some punters will be tempted into a bet on the visitors springing a surprise.

Scotland look to maintain their hopes of reaching Switzerland and Austria next summer, with Walter Smith's men likely to be favourites in the betting to beat Lithuania. The Scots are currently third in Group B but despite winning five of their opening seven matches, they will be long odds to finish in the top two with Italy and France, who play each other on September 8, ahead of them.

The Republic of Ireland face a crucial Group D encounter, with betting punters likely to desert Steve Staunton's men if they fail to beat Slovakia in Bratislava. The Republic are in third after a poor start to the campaign and there will be plenty looking elsewhere for a bet in the race for qualification. Wales are also in action and can do Irish betting backers a favour with a victory over group leaders Germany.

Northern Ireland travel to Riga to take on Latvia, with betting punters well aware that victory for Nigel Worthington's side will put them in a strong position to qualify for Euro 2008 with four games left after the weekend.

Betting punters will also be keeping a close eye on the odds for several of the European powerhouses, with the likes of Holland, Spain, Portugal, Czech Republic and Sweden also in action.