Scotland v Wales: Bale looks value to add to his recent tally

 

Scotland meet Wales in a World Cup qualifier and Dan Fitch is backing Gareth Bale to cause more headaches for a Scottish defence, just months after scoring twice  against them.

 

Whenever two teams from the United Kingdom meet on the international stage, there is bound to be some excitement. In the context of World Cup qualification though, the  match between Scotland and Wales could scarcely be less relevant.

 

Scotland are rock bottom of Group A, having picked up no wins and just two draws so far. Wales are ahead of them by one place and a single point, courtesy of a 2-1 win  in Cardiff last October, with Gareth Bale scoring two late goals.

 

Yet even though neither team will be troubling the World Cup draw, there are some interesting sub-plots bubbling under the surface. The game marks Gordon Strachan's  competitive debut as manager, having won his first game in charge back in February, when Scotland beat Estonia 1-0 in a friendly.

 

The scoreline that day wasn't reflective of Scotland's dominance, as they created and squandered a number of chances. The team looked decidedly more attacking and  positive than the football Scottish fans were used to watching under Craig Levein.

 

That was the second win in a row for Scotland, having beaten Luxembourg 2-1, while still looking for manager following the sacking of Levein. Wales also come into this  game off the back of a victory, after beating Austria 2-1 back in February.

 

Gareth Bale scored a spectacular opening goal that night and the Opta stats reveal that of the last six games that Wales have scored in, Bale has been on target in  every match, scoring seven in total.

 

Bale is available at 3.2 to score and 6.5 in both the first goalscorer and last goalscorer markets. That's pretty good value considering his recent form at international level, the brace against Scotland and of course his recent feats for Tottenham.

 

It certainly looks better value than the odds on Steven Fletcher, who is 2.5 to score. Despite his good form for Sunderland this season, Fletcher has just one  international goal from 11 caps and has only just rejoined the Scotland fold after an exile under Levein. If you do fancy him, take a chance on the 6.4 for Fletcher to score first, with the majority of his Sunderland goals this season opening the scoring.

 

This will be a match that both sides will fancy they can win and I'm expecting them to attack each other. That makes over 2.5 goals at 2.18 look decent value, at least from a trading perspective, with under 2.5 at 1.81.

 

The actual result is a difficult one to call. Both teams looked well matched, but home advantage might be the key. Scotland rarely lose at home. They are unbeaten in  their last eight games on home soil and have lost just four of their last 26 outings. Those defeats came at the hands of Spain, Holland, Argentina and Italy.

 

Yet the 1.87 for a Scotland win looks skinny. The draw at 3.75 looks much better value, especially from a trading perspective in what should be a relatively tight game, decided by a single goal.

 

Recommended Bets

Back Bale to score @ 3.2

Back over 2.5 goals @ 2.1411/10

 

Bet HERE

Viewed 592 times