Thursday night sees the return of the Nations League.
Football tipster Paddy Murphy loves a bit of international football and has five value picks for the big televised fixtures.
And, thanks to Paddy’s Acca-Cracker offer, if just one leg lets us down, you get our stake back.
Football accumulator tips
19:45 Denmark v Switzerland – Under 2.5 goals
19:45 Portugal v Croatia – Portugal over 1.5 goals
19:45 Scotland v Poland – Under 2.5 goals
19:45 Serbia v Spain – Spain to win & both teams to score
19:45 Northern Ireland v Luxembourg – Northern Ireland to win
- An acca with these bets pays at approximately 20/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
Denmark v Switzerland – Under 2.5 goals
UEFA Nations League match at the Parken Stadium, Copenhagen
TV: Premier Sports, 19:45
You look at both squads, and you’d have to admit that the Swiss boast the better players. Granted, they messed it up against England when they had them on the ropes in that Euros, and they’ve lost Xherdan Shaqiri to retirement, but that six-man midfield they like to play with makes them incredibly tough to break down.
However, despite Denmark being without the services of Man United striker Rasmus Hojlund, their five-man midfield is equally capable of keeping teams at bay. They only conceded four goals at Euro 2024, and of their last 10 on home soil have only conceded five times.
It’s hard to see anything other than a 1-1 or 0-0 here, so we’re backing under 2.5 goals.
Portugal v Croatia – Portugal over 1.5 goals
UEFA Nations League match at the Estadio da Luz, Lisbon
TV: Premier Sports, 19:45
Portugal hosted Croatia in the run-up to Euro 2024, a game they lost 1-2. Croatia failed to deliver on those promises and had a tournament to forget, while Portugal exited at the quarter final stage, losing to France on penalties. They’d lost to Georgia in the Group Stage, too, and needed penalties to overcome a stubborn Slovenian side in the Last 16.
Nothing has changed for Croatia since the Euros. They looked tired and out of ideas against Spain, Albania and Italy. Manager Zlatko Dalic has just six players under 25 in his squad, two of which are backup goalkeepers, so really just four youngsters.
No doubt Croatia will be eager to keep it tight and frustrate the hosts.
However, with the likes of Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Rafael Leao, Joao Felix, Pedro Neto, Diogo Jota, and, of course, Cristiano Ronaldo’s still lingering around, too, it’s hard not to see the hosts chalking up at least two goals against this aging Croatia side, particularly as they’ve scored at least two goals in eight of their nine home games since the Qatar World Cup.
Scotland v Poland – Under 2.5 goals
UEFA Nations League match at Hampden Park, Glasgow
TV: Premier Sports, 19:45
Scotland really embarrassed themselves at the Euros. Their fans were mighty, but the team really let them down. Poland were pretty dour in one of the toughest groups, notching up just a point against France following defeats to the Netherlands and Austria.
The Scots drew one and lost two at the Euros, and of their last nine games before the Euros, they won just one, which was against Gibraltar, so it doesn’t count for much.
Poland will yet again look to Robert Lewandowski, Piotr Zielinski, and Krzysztof Piatek for goals. Some young players are in the ranks now, but hardly any are regularly involved in first-team football for their clubs.
So, what have we got here? A home side short on confidence and a bit shy about scoring goals against a team relying on three good players who are forced to play with inexperienced ones. The highlights for this one will probably just be a half dozen shots from distance going miles wide.
Serbia v Spain – Both teams to score & over 2.5 goals
UEFA Nations League match at Stadion Rajko Mitic, Belgrade
TV: Premier Sports, 19:45
Serbia huffed and puffed but didn’t do much at the Euros. They lost to England in their opening game and then drew 1-1 with Slovenia and 0-0 with Denmark. They should have won both games were it not for some wayward shooting and goalkeeper heroics.
Spain. Well, Spain shocked most of us in how they went about winning the Euros. They’ve now lost just two of their last 20 games, that famous 2-0 loss away to Scotland back in March 2023 and a friendly loss to Colombia in a match played in London for some reason.
The Serbs are always strong on home soil. They’ve won six of their last ten on home turf, scoring at least two goals in eight of those 10 fixtures.
Spain have also scored plenty of late, netting at least two goals in nine of their last 13, 10 if we were to count their Extra Time goal against Germany in the quarter-finals, so we should see both teams scoring and at least one of them getting a second.
Northern Ireland v Luxembourg – Northern Ireland to win
UEFA Nations League match at Windsor Park, Belfast
TV: Premier Sports, 19:45
Northern Ireland are enjoying a decent run of form of late, they’ve won three, drawn one and lost one over their last five, scoring seven goals and conceding six, although five of them came when they faced Spain just before the Euros.
Luxembourg have won three and lost three of their last six games, losing to Georgia, France, and Belgium. However, their wins were against pretty poor sides: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Liechtenstein, and Kazakhstan.
The Ulstermen have won three and lost two over their last five in Belfast, scoring seven and conceding just two, while Luxembourg have won just one of their last five away games, drawing one and losing three, scoring just two goals and conceding nine.
That home record is hard to argue with, and the hosts are a good price to take the three points here.
Football accumulator tips
19:45 Denmark v Switzerland – Under 2.5 goals
19:45 Portugal v Croatia – Portugal over 1.5 goals
19:45 Scotland v Poland – Under 2.5 goals
19:45 Serbia v Spain – Spain to win & both teams to score
19:45 Northern Ireland v Luxembourg – Northern Ireland to win
- An acca with these bets pays at approximately 20/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
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