Group F - Greece must win double header
This is Greece's first qualifying campaign in over a decade without their heroic Euro 2004-winning boss Otto Rehhagel involved and it hasn't got off to the best of starts, with the first two competitive matches of the Fernando Santos era finishing level.
The Portuguese coach, who has managed Greek sides AEK Athens (twice), Panathinaikos and PAOK, guiding the latter into the preliminary stages of the Champions League last season, got going with a disappointing home draw with Georgia, before a far more encouraging stalemate away to Croatia.
While that point in Zagreb, and a friendly victory in Serbia in August, offers Greek fans reasons to be optimistic about Santos' tenure, they would have expected at least three points from those ties, so if they are to challenge for top spot in Group F then six points from their next two games are required.
Greece are clear [1.45] favourites to complete the part one of that target against Latvia on Friday night, however the second hurdle will be harder to overcome - on Tuesday night they host Israel, who have opened in mediocre fashion yet are rarely defeated.
Israel are unbeaten - though that may not be the case come Tuesday as they face welcome Croatia in another key clash on Saturday - but have lost 2-1 on their last three visits to Greece, most recently last April in a World Cup qualifier. Their early price to triumph in that encounter is [3.8].
The odds indicate that Greece should be confident of winning both matches, and if you agree then now is probably the time to grab the [3.15] currently available on them taking first place. On the flip side, if they flop in either fixture then Santos will no doubt endure unfavourable comparisons with Rehhagel.
Can Greece win Group F or are you backing Croatia ([1.62]) or Israel ([7.2])? Let us know with a comment in the box below...
Published: 6 Oct 2010
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