Another 3 games to focus on today as Italy takes on Costa Rica at 6pm followed by France’s local clash with Switzerland and the night is rounded off with the glory of Honduras and Ecuador. Italy will be looking to seal their place in the 2nd round with a win over shock stars Costa Rica who know that even with a win on the board, are still not expected to progress beyond the group phase. Italy looked strong against England but will expect a difficult opponent in Costa Rica who stunned Uruguay 3.1 in the opening fixture to turn the group on its head and the Italians will need to be at their best if they want to take all 3 points. I expect the Italians to want to seal their route to the 2nd round tonight and I am backing them at 8/15 to see off the Central Americans but I don’t think it is going to be easy and in Arsenal forward Joel Campbell, they have a man who can worry the Italians who are not as strong at the back as they once were. I expect Mario Balotelli to find the net again as he looks sharp and relaxed and is a world class striker when he has the head screwed on. Screws are in place (at least for now ) and Mario can be backed to score first at 9/2 or 5/6 anytime. It raises the question as to just where did all the good defenders go? England used to have Terry, Ferdinand, Campbell, Adams, Butcher et al and now they are left with Phil Jagielka! It’s clear to see that this has been England’s downfall at this tournament and likewise Italy who certainly do not possess a Maldini, Baresi or Cannavaro anymore and for that reason BTTS is possible but I think Italy to win is the more solid bet. We shall see. France looked sharp against Honduras and they can continue their good start to the tournament by beating Switzerland at 9pm in what will be a closely fought contest.I don’t expect lots of goals in this one but fancy the French to edge it by 1. They are 17/20 to get the win they want to secure their place in the round of 16. Finally and rather painfully we have a battle between Honduras and Ecuador and I use the word “battle” consciously as the Hondurans have proved to be the dirtiest side in the tournament. It’s clear they are over compensating for a lack of ability and I expect their filth tactics to continue tonight in a match where they are underdogs against Ecuador. The Ecuadorians should take the points but once more I am not expecting many goals and quite potentially this could be a pretty poor affair. If I had to pick a winner, I would side with Ecuador but I expect a scrappy encounter and 0.0 or 1.0 is entirely possible Not the best of days overall but it is still the World Cup and hopefully France and Switzerland can serve up something special at 9pm to match up to the feasts we have enjoyed in previous days. Bo’s Best Bets Italy to beat Costa Rica – 8/15 France to beat Switzerland 17/20 Bo’s Anytime Scorer Double Balotelli – 5/6 Benzema 5/6 Double pays at 2.7/1 Bo’s Predictions Italy 2 v 1 Costa Rica France 1 v 0 Switzerland Ecuador 1 v 0 Costa Rica Comments are closed.
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