Latvia vs Czech Republic Betting Tips

Latvia’s hopes of qualifying for the Euro 2016 finals may be all but gone, but they are still determined to put in some good performances.

They haven’t disgraced themselves by any means, drawing four of their seven matches and only losing against Netherlands twice and Group A leaders Iceland.

They managed to get a draw against Czech Republic away from home in March, and it would have been a win if not for Vaclav Pilar’s 90^th minute equaliser.

But you can’t qualify for major finals on draws alone, and their four point total leaves them in 5^th position in Group A with a six point deficit on 3^rd placed Netherlands.

The Czech Republic are in a much better position than their opponents, in 2^nd position in Group A with a six point advantage over the Netherlands.

The Dutch contingent lost against Iceland this week which, coupled with the Czech’s win over Kazakhstan allowed them to stretch their lead in over the disappointing pre-tournament favourites.

This looks promising for the top two sides in the group, but the Czech Republic will be wary of the fact that the Latvians managed to get a result in the return fixture.

This, along with the 2-1 loss away to Iceland, are the only blips in an otherwise perfect qualification campaign for Czech Republic.

They weren’t particularly convincing on Thursday though. They played at home against bottom of the group Kazakhstan, and fell behind midway through the first half to the underdogs.

They couldn’t seem to turn their attacks into anything dangerous though, despite all their possession. The 74^th minute saw the Czech’s get their first shot on target, resulting in Milan Skoda’s first goal. He followed this up 12 minutes later with another, but the fact they only managed two shots on target all game will be a bit of a worry when they face a much tighter defensive unit in the Latvians.

Eight of Latvia’s last 11 games have ended with Under 2.5 goals, and at home we would expect them to stay tight defensively. Odds of 3/4 for Under 2.5 Goals also look like good value, along with a 1-0 Czech Republic win at 4/1.