Eurovision Semi-Final 2 Tips: Get against Cyprus in qualification betting

My first semi-final calls went very well on Tuesday with both Albania and Austria missing out on qualification and Iceland progressing to Saturday night's grand final.

Semi two looks a trappier affair but hopefully I can follow up with another winner or two in Betfair's 'To Qualify' market.

The win market for semi-final 2 looked a done deal before arriving in Turin, and it remains business as usual with Sweden looking most likely to take the semi victory.

Sweden backers will all be hoping Cornelia Jakobs pulls out a second half draw and the odds of this are in her favour heading into tonight's press conference for the ten semi two qualifiers, with seven second half slots remaining in the perspex bowl.

Poland is also a top notch entry and should follow Sweden home in second place. Despite naysayers questioning Ochman's charisma heading to Turin, there's no denying his incredible live vocal and they've done a great job with the staging of 'River' which is a visual tour de force.

The qualification picture feels quite open which implores traders to take a value approach and seek short-priced nations to lay.

Art for art's sake

Worthy of consideration has to be Serbia's entry, 'In Corpore Sano'. This has been a big fan favourite this season but remains a baffling entry for the first time viewer.

Even with a few subtitles thrown in to try and help explain things, Konstrakta's steely-eyed stare alone is disconcerting, conjuring memories of the girl who crawled out of the tv screen in the hit movie 'The Ring'.

Translated as 'in a healthy body' and loosely interpreted as making a statement about the artificial nature of modern society, it still boils down to a slightly unhinged looking lady washing her hands while repeating the refrain, 'Biti zdrava, biti zdrava'.

It's certainly unique, wouldn't look out of place at the Tate Modern, but could end up a surprise NQ if jurors were as perplexed last night as this evening's tv viewers might be.

Cy-price to pay

But the main selection to get stuck in laying has to be Cyprus. Andromache's 'Ela' is a forgettable song made more underwhelming by lacklustre staging. Sandwiched between Australian showman Sheldon Riley whose performance is pure Vegas showmanship, and the youthful pop exuberance of Ireland's Brooke, 'Ela' risks anonymity.

Czech Republic has the pimp slot which usually equates to a handsome televote points haul, powering an entry into the semi-final top 10.

Coming to Turin I was sceptical about We Are Domi's 'Lights Off' because of the many ropey live performances lead singer Dominika put in during the pre-ESC concert circuit.

But the Czechs have done a great job with the backing vocal support and the fact it is uptempo and in the pimp slot means it is worthy of consideration for a top 3 finish.

The other to consider at a big price for a surprise top 3 finish is Azerbaijan. Nadir Rustamli has a fantastic live vocal and has really brought his ballad, 'Fade To Black', to life live, aided by some ingenious Azerbaijani staging which conjures memories of the country's glory days, ESC 2013 in particular, and Farid Mammadov's 'Hold Me'.

A running order of 4 isn't ideal but this is a stand out among the early section of the show and should have more than enough quality to qualify with ease.

Balkan dark horse

Montenegro has NQ-ed with its last four consecutive ESC entries, and has only qualified twice with its last 11 entries. Such poor form figures would usually leave you poised to put a line through the Balkan minnow. However, its entry this year is a highly competent ballad called 'Breathe', well performed by Vladana.

The lyrics of 'Breathe' certainly chime with the times: 'The battle for the life. Is bigger than you know. To act so selfishly is unforgivable. The air is what they need. Air is what they breathe. They'll die without it. It's unforgivable.'

There is a seriously eclectic mix of songs in semi two this year. Ones to look out for tonight include Georgia's wonderful slice of 70s psychedelia with Circus Mircus's 'Lock Me In', no forlorn hope to qualify.

The show opener 'Jezebel' is performed by famous Finnish rock band The Rasmus. The main plaudits here deserve to go to blonde guitarist Emppu who cuts some tremendous poses while rocking out.

Don't be surprised if Italian neighbour San Marino is called as the last qualifier this evening. 'Stripper' is glam rock-inspired and sees lead singer Achille Lauro ascend a bucking bronco. Yep, it's all the fun of the fair at Eurovision 2022.