Wales v Israel: Bale to inspire Welsh to crucial victory

Wales v Israel
Sunday, 17:00
Live On Sky Sports 1

Wales

The Welsh have come close to qualifying for a championship before but this time there is a real sense of expectation, rather than hope, that they will be successful.

Much of this bullishness comes from the knowledge that their talisman Gareth Bale can be relied upon to make a difference at international level, in a way that perhaps former club greats such as Ian Rush, Mark Hughes and Ryan Giggs, could not. Yet again he proved a match-winner as he headed home magnificently to give Wales victory over Cyprus on Thursday.

Credit must also go to Chris Coleman, who having struggled in his early days as manager, has fashioned a strong side that is not just a one-man show. The one change that Coleman is likely to make for this match is the reintroduction of James Chester to centre of defence after the West Brom player missed the Cyprus match through injury, with Joe Ledley looking likely to miss out again.

Israel

This game has been heralded as a must-win match for Wales as they look to secure qualification, but this is also a game that Israel dare not lose.

With Belgium favourites for a win against Cyprus, a loss to Wales could see Israel fall well off the pace for automatic qualification and reduced to battling with the Cypriots and Bosnia and Herzegovina for a play-off spot.

Israel come into this fixture off the back of a 4-0 win over Andorra in midweek, which broke a run of three successive losses.

Match Odds

One of those three defeats for Israel came at the hands of Wales, who ran out 3-0 winners inHaifa back in March.

It's no surprise then that Wales are favourites to win, but the odds might surprise you. Coleman's side are 1.98 to clinch victory, with the draw at 3.45 and Israel at 4.30.

It could very easily turn into a nervy night for Wales but it's a big price for the leaders of Group B who have won their last three games without conceding a goal.

Wales are 2.96 to win to nil again, while the draw half-time/Wales full-time double result is also worth considering at a likely price of 5.00.

Over/Under 2.5 Goals

Under 2.5 goals is the favourite here at 1.61, with overs at 2.48. Considering the margin of Wales' recent win over Israel the overs is tempting, yet it's a risky bet that's probably best avoided.

Better value is the 2.26 for Wales to keep what would be their fifth clean sheet in a row. Israel have drawn a blank in two of their last four games.

When looking at individual scorers, one man stands out. Only Robert Lewandowski has scored more Euro 2016 qualifying goals than Bale's six.

Having started his international career as a left-back, Bale has moved further forward and has hit 15 goals in the last 24 games since 2011. The likely price of 2.20 for Bale to score is worth a punt, with the Real Madrid star a 4.50 option to open the scoring.

Recommended Bets

Back Wales to win at 1.98
Back Wales to keep a clean sheet at 2.26
Back Bale to score at 2.20