Northern Ireland vs San Marino Prediction, Betting Tips and Preview
Northern Ireland take on San Marino in World Cup qualifying Group C this Friday. Read the match predictions to find out why Northern Ireland are the betting tip to get three points at Windsor Park.
Northern Ireland vs San Marino Preview
Northern Ireland performed with great credit in Euro 2016 and opened this qualifying campaign with a meritorious 0-0 draw away to Czech Rep. Meanwhile San Marino couldn’t quite keep Azerbaijan at bay and went down 0-1 at Serravalle.
Stuart Dallas was deployed on the left of midfield in Prague and could once again force Shane Ferguson into a more defensive role. Skipper Steven Davis will continue in the centre of the park among a 5 man midfield, although Michael O’Neill is likely to give his player more creative licenence given the level of opposition. Kyle Lafferty should continue as a lone striker while Matthew Lund, Tom Flanagan and Trevor Carson await their first cap.
San Marino will be without right-back Cristian Brolli after he was given his marching orders in the defeat to Azerbaijan. That could pave the way for Matteo Colonna to earn his first cap while Davide Simoncini will continue in the hear of defence in front of his twin brother Aldo in goal. Adolfo Hirsch and Filippo Berardi will be tasked with supporting lone forward Matteo Vitaioli from the flanks.
Team Predictions Northern Ireland vs San Marino
Northern Ireland 4-5-1 formation: McGovern; Ferguson, Evans, McAuley, McLaughlin; Dallas, Davis, Norwood, McNair, Ward; Lafferty
San Marino 5-4-1 formation: Simoncini; Colonna, Cesarini, Simoncini, Palazzi, Berardi; Berardi, Tosi, Chiaruzzi, Hirsch; Vitaioli
Northern Ireland vs San Marino Betting Tips
- Northern Ireland have won 4 drawn 3 and lost 3 of their last 10 matches
- San Marino have won 0 drawn 1 and lost 9 of their last 10 matches
- Over the course of their previous 10 matches, Northern Ireland have scored an average of 0.8 goals and conceded an average of 0.4 goals per game
- Over the course of their previous 10 matches, San Marino have scored an average of 0.1 goals and conceded an average of 3.7 goals per game
- There have been over 2.5 goals scored in 1 of Northern Ireland’s previous 10 matches
- There have been over 2.5 goals scored in 5 of San Marino’s previous 10 matches
(Photo by MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP/Getty Images)
Northern Ireland vs San Marino Prediction
Northern Ireland’s Euro 2016 adventure included a narrow 1-0 defeat to Poland before they bounced back to beat Ukraine 2-0. They then went close to causing an upset when being edged 1-0 by Germany and were eventually knocked out by wales after another closely fought 1-0 loss. The Green and White Army showed they are still a tough nut to crack when holding Czech Republic to a draw last time, which is a fair result in the grand scheme of things.
San Marino played okay in a 0-2 loss to Slovenia but it was the stuff of nightmares when they shipped 10 goals without reply away to Croatia. Last time out they did much better in losing by just a single goal to Azerbaijan, despite only having 10 men on the pitch.
San Marino’s main priority is often damage limitation and that will be no different here. Expect the visitors to play with men behind the ball to try and frustrate the hosts. It will be something of a role reversal for North Iron, who often adopt similar tactics themselves.
Michael O’Neill will most likely take the shackles off his players and allow them to be more expressive here. It will be difficult to break through the banks of defensive players but Northern Ireland have enough quality to prevail and I can’t see them being troubled at the other end of the pitch.
Free Betting Tips
Match Prediction
Northern Ireland to win to nil at 1/6 with bet365
Over/Under Prediction
Under 2.5 goals at 16/5 with Ladbrokes
Correct Score Prediction
Northern Ireland to win 2-0 at 13/2 with 888Sport
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