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Czech Republic vs Bulgaria Predictions

  • 18:45
  • Expired
  • GENERALI Arena
Czech Republic
Bulgaria
  • Sky Sports Football

odds when tipped

odds when tipped

Czech Republic vs Bulgaria Predictions

Going to Wembley first time out was never going to be easy for Jaroslav Šilhavý’s Czech Republic side, though they would’ve fancied themselves to get far more competitive than they eventually did when losing by five goals to nil at England’s national stadium. After such a heavy defeat, the Czech’s will be hoping that returning to home soil sparks and improved showing.

It’s difficult to put a positive spin on anything that Czech Republic did at Wembley back in March; they didn’t create an awful lot going forward, as they managed just two shots on target and accumulated 0.8 expected goals for, while they gave lots away, surrendering seven shots on target and conceding 2.92 expected goals. A home match against Bulgaria will inevitably be easier than facing England on the road, but the Czech’s still need to improve.

Unfortunately, Czech Republic didn’t exactly create a positive impression when recently playing at home in the UEFA Nations League. They defended well to beat Slovakia by a goal to nil, though the fact that they created only 0.86 expected goals for is slightly worrying. Prior to their win against the Slovaks, Šilhavý’s men lost at home to Ukraine. On that occasion, they did get on the scoresheet, though they shipped twice, created only 0.63 expected goals for and conceded 1.99. Not positive at all.

Unlike Czech Republic, Bulgaria have made a reasonably sturdy start to life in Group A. They’re yet to win, but they’ve held both Kosovo and Montenegro to draws, so they’ll probably fancy themselves to make life hard for the Czech’s on Friday evening.

The visitors don’t have much to fear; after all, the Czech’s haven’t looked menacing at home in recent times, though Bulgaria’s most recent away-day effort wasn’t great either. Away against Kosovo on match-day two, Friday’s visitors created very little, as they took just five shots and posted a rather weak total of 0.44 expected goals for. That said, they only conceded 0.98, which suggests that they prevented their opponents from creating an abundance of good-quality chances.

However, although Bulgaria’s efforts in Kosovo weren’t amazing, they did avoid defeat, while their overall efforts on the road during the UEFA Nations League were reasonably encouraging. Their three travelling games in that competition yielded a win, a draw and a loss. Such a string of results is far from impressive, but it’s not too bad either, while their underlying numbers were respectable, as they averaged 1.47 expected goals for and conceded and average of 0.94.

If we consider how Czech Republic performed at home during the Nations League in relation to how Bulgaria performed on the road in the same competition, then it’s not at all difficult to make a case for the visitors in the betting.

Given that none of their recent performances have been pleasing, the Czech’s look somewhat overpriced ahead of Friday’s clash. In contrast, there appears to be plenty of juice in the price of the visitors. Quite simply, when we take everything into consideration, Bulgaria look to have a great chance of winning than the current odds suggest, so supporting the travelling side is easy to do.

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