World Cup 2010 / Tobias Gourlay / 09 October 2009 / Leave a comment

Tobias Gourlay previews a clash of two fallen middleweights. Best Bet: Back Both Teams to Score at [2.2]

Recommendations: Back Over 2.5 Goals at [1.89]; back Both Teams to Score at [2.2]

Two teams who have qualified more often than not for recent major tournaments go toe to toe in Prague on Saturday night. Neither the Czech Repubic nor Poland can win Group Three, and neither are perhaps as good as they have been in the recent past. Both know that anything other than victory would go a very long way to ensuring their non-appearance at South Africa 2010.

This time last year, the Czechs visited Poland in Chorzow and lost 2-1. In July this year, one month after becoming President of the Czech Football Federation, Ivan Hasek appointed himself the national team's third manager of this campaign. With a little help from former boss Karel Bruckner, Hasek has overseen a 3-1 friendly win at home to Belgium, a 2-2 draw in Slovakia and a textbook besting of San Marino.

The Czechs, [1.57] favourites to beat Poland ([7.0]), haven't drawn a competitive home match since Denmark kept them goalless eight years and 24 matches ago. But the market knows that result's no good to anyone and it can only be laid at [4.5].

Just one of the Czechs' last 21 visitors have stopped them from scoring (the Netherlands beat them 2-0 almost exactly four years ago). The chances of Poland keeping them out are reduced by the rare good form of Milan Baros - four goals in the two September qualifiers - and the rare good fitness of Tomas Rosicky, although Sochaux's Vaclav Sverkos, who assisted Martin Fenin's goal in the reverse fixture, is absent.

Poland have scored in 21/25 away qualifiers since the turn of the century, but in only four of the most recent six. Having lost three in a row away to Slovakia, Northern Ireland and Slovenia, Stefan Majewski's team probably is on the wane, but perhaps Over 2.5 Goals is still value at [1.89], bearing in mind that both teams will kick-on if the score reaches 1-1 and the Czechs don't often draw at home. The [2.2] available on Both Teams to Score might be an even better bet.

Tags: Czech Republic, International Football Betting, Ivan Hasek, Karel Bruckner, Milan Baros, Poland, Tobias Gourlay, Tomas Rosicky, World Cup Qualifiers, World Cup Qualifying