Live on BBC3: Sun 19.45: Great Britain could only manage a point against Senegal in their Olympic opener on Thursday, despite taking the lead through Craig Bellamy and boss Stuart Pearce suggested that perhaps his side had been a touch nervous before the match.
A draw was probably a fair result but it could nevertheless have been different had Team GB had been awarded a second half penalty for a blatant foul on their goal scorer and with that match under their belts now, the hosts will probably perform better this evening as they tackle the United Arab Emirates.
Bookmakers agree and so Pearce’s charges are just 2/5 with BetVictor to beat opponents that started well in their first game, against Uruguay but ran out of steam before losing 2-1.
Skybet meanwhile, offer 7/2 for another frustrating draw and it’s 8/1 courtesy of Stan James for Great Britain to suffer a damaging defeat but despite failing to prevail when emphatic favourites against Senegal they should justify the punters’ faith at Wembley.
Team GB should be able to nullify the Emirates’ attacking threat and accordingly a strong case can be made for bet365’s 11/8, chalked against a home win ‘to nil’. More precisely, bet365 quote odds of 6/1 for Pearce’s troops to notch twice without reply and it’s 11/10 via Paddy Power for the British outfit to be in front at the end of each half.
Elsewhere, with a Great Britain clean sheet likely, BetVictor’s 23/20 for the contest to produce fewer than 2.5 goals isn’t without appeal and Craig Bellamy is a 5/1 shot at bet365 to grab the first for the second game running.
However, that price is plenty short enough and with the United Arab Emirates likely to sit deep and keep things tight, it could be that Team GB break the deadlock via an attacking midfielder who is harder to pick up. Tom Cleverly fits the bill and bet365 make him 11/1 to notch first.
Recommended Bets:
Great Britain to win ‘to nil’ – 11/8 (bet365)
Tom Cleverly to score first – 11/1 (bet365)
Compare all Olympic football odds and bet at the best price.
