Faroe Islands v Northern Ireland: Don't underestimate the Faroes

Faroe Islands v Northern Ireland
Friday, 19:45
Live on Sky Sports 5

Faroe Islands

They may not be the greatest team in the world but the Faroe Islands have recently completed a double over Greece and those six points have lifted them up to fourth in Group F.

Lars Olsen's men have little to no chance of qualifying given that they trail third place Hungary by five points with only four games left, but those wins over the Greeks could be a platform to build on for the remainder of the campaign.

Northern Ireland

The Northern Irish are flying high in second place in the group and with the top two automatically qualifying for next summer, there is a real possibility that they can make their first major tournament in years.

Michael O'Neill has a few injury concerns ahead of the match though as Chris Brunt is a doubt and Kyle Lafferty - who has scored five of their eight goals - hasn't played since the middle of June and therefore has match fitness concerns.

Match Odds
Faroe Islands 6.60 Northern Ireland 1.67 The Draw 3.95

The visitors are the warm favourites for this one but I can't get excited about backing them at1.67. They have always been a much more formidable unit at Windsor Park than they have on their travels and if Lafferty doesn't get the goals then I'm not convinced where they'll come from.

It's not a market that I'm overly keen to play in but, if I was forced, I'd be leaning towards laying the Irish at odds-on.

Over/Under 2.5 Goals
Over 2.5 Goals 2.48 Under 2.5 Goals 1.67

Another market which doesn't get my pulse racing is this one as I think that the odds are about right. Four of Northern Ireland's six qualifying games have finished with two goals or fewer being scored and the same can be said of the Faroe Islands.

I do expect the pair of them to find the net, but I think that there is better value to be had elsewhere...

Both Teams to Score

If you back both teams to score then you get the same price as if you back over 2.5. The question I ask myself here is - Is a 3-0 scoreline either way more likely than a 1-1 scoreline?

The latter seems much more likely to me and while I have noted that I have concerns about Northern Ireland's attack without a match-fit, Lafferty, it isn't like they are facing Brazil.

Cash Out

I see this being a close affair so with the hosts such a big price, I have to have some kind of bet in their favour. I quite like the idea of backing them in the draw no bet market at 5.00 with a view to trade.

There is plenty of juice in that price and if they can indeed build on those Greece results, they could well surprise a few people here.

Recommended Bets
Back Both Teams to Score @ 2.50

Best Cash Out
Back Faroe Islands DNB @ 5.00