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Iceland v Wales
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Kick Off: Friday 11th October at 19:45
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Competition: UEFA Nations League
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Watch Live: S4C
This Friday night clash reflects the halfway stage for both Iceland and Wales in their respective UEFA Nations League campaigns.
Comparing the two, there is a slight advantage for the Welshman so far, who sit in second position, which is a promotion play-off place. Whilst their Icelandic opponents sit narrowly one point behind, currently occupying a relegation play-off spot.
⭐ Iceland v Wales Best Bets
Iceland are not the most consistent of outfits in terms of recent results but they have conceded in ten of 15 matches since their current manager took charge. There is still an expectancy from within that they can score goals. This is proven by the fact they’ve scored in seven of their eight international clashes played in 2024.
Wales are early into Craig Bellamy’s tenure but over many years this team has been hard to beat. It is just one defeat across their previous 12 inside 90 minutes and Bellamy will want this defensive solidarity to remain. However, in his opening two matches in charge, his team averaged an xGF of 1.91 and an xGA of 1.68. This means both teams to score in Reykjavík looks like a promising option at just under evens.
🔍 Iceland v Wales Players to Watch
🔴 Brennan Johnson
Brennan Johnson will surely start here after scoring in each of his previous six appearances at club level. Therefore, his confidence is surely sky-high, plus his end product cannot be questioned right now.
There is no other Welshman in the squad offering anywhere near this level of goal threat. This means he should see plenty of the ball in and around the final third. Johnson has had at least one shot on target in all bar two of his matches this season for club or country.
Facing an opponent in Iceland that has failed to keep a clean sheet in 10 of their 15 under manager Ågo Hareide highlights their defensive shortcomings. Someone such as Johnson will be relishing the prospect of Friday night’s match.
📂 Iceland v Wales Cheat Sheet
Andy’s Bet Club is the best place for football betting predictions. We offer a huge range of Nations League accumulator predictions and Nations League tips to keep you covered during this week’s international break. Aside from this betting preview, we’ve also got a Home Nations accumulator covering England, Scotland, and Wales’ matches this week.
We also offer both teams to score tips, plus bet builder-focused picks such as our card betting tips, player shots on target tips, and fouls betting predictions.
💻 Iceland v Wales Form and Tactics
The expectation here is for Wales to enjoy more of the ball in this encounter considering they’ve averaged 55.5% possession across their two UEFA Nations League battles so far. This case is strengthened knowing Iceland’s equivalent in this category is 41.5%; a number which only betters four other nations in the competition so far.
What may surprise many is knowing Craig Bellamy’s side are ranked first across the Nations League in terms fouls drawn; an average of 18.0 per match. Despite this, they are averaging a greater number of cards per encounter with 3.0, compared to Iceland, who averages 2.0.
Based on averages, corners could be quite a regular occurrence in Friday’s match. This is because Iceland have averaged 5.0 per game in the Nations League, with Wales being slightly down on this with 4.50. It therefore is no big surprise to see the Welshman have lost the corner battle in five of their previous eight international fixtures.
Iceland have suffered nine defeats since the beginning of March 2023. There have been no hard luck stories there as they lost the xG battle every time within those. Interestingly, Wales have lost the xG battle in two of their last three wins.
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🏁 Iceland v Wales Ref Watch
- Referee: Antoni Bandić
- Averaging 4.0 cards per game in his domestic league this season, and 5.0 in the European fixtures he has overseen
- Bandić has given three penalties in three domestic league games so far this season, averaging 1.0 per game
- Has previously refereed in the under-17s Euros, where he took charge of four games, including a semi-final. Three of those four games finished with fewer than two cards awarded.
Football Predictions at Andy’s Bet Club
Our guide on how to use a Cheat Sheet is the perfect way to get involved with our bet builder stats tool, the best freely available data source for bet builder crafting.
We recommend the best betting sites for accumulators, top bet builder sites, and the best free bet offers and weekly free bet clubs, all to ensure you bet smarter when backing our tips with the best UK sports betting sites.
Expert guides, such as this one, on xG in football, are also available to help you up your punting game, while we’ve also put together a list of the best Nations League free bet offers.
* I recommend waiting for confirmed team line-ups before placing any bets.
* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.
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