Algeria v Slovenia, Sunday 13th June, 12.30pm
It’s hardly the most attractive group match of the World Cup, although it shouldn’t stop punters from looking at ways to make a profit. It could well be that Slovenia are a cracking price at odds-against (5/4 Paddy Power) to win this match in Polokwane and potentially go top of England’s group.
Indeed, the Three Lions will be facing both of these teams at a later stage of the competition and they might well find that the Algerians are there for the taking. The Desert Foxes are 13/5 (Bet Fred) to win this Group C opener at the Peter Mokaba Stadium, although recent friendly results have seen them outclassed by the likes of Ireland and Serbia. A 1-0 win over UAE hardly inspires confidence ahead of the World Cup.
It should be noted that Slovenia had one of the best defensive records in qualifying, conceding just four goals in ten matches. Therefore, the 23/10 (Paddy Power) about Matjaz Kek’s team winning to nil could be worth a second glance, while the same applies to the 11/8 (Sky Bet) that the 23rd-ranked FIFA nation keeping a clean sheet.
Milivoje Novakovic (6/1 Sky Bet) is the class act when it comes to the striker department, having scored five goals in the twelve qualifying matches, while he’s also recently been on target against New Zealand and Qatar.
