Turkey vs Latvia Betting Tips

It was a somewhat ill-tempered affair when Turkey and Lativa met early in Group A Euro 2016 qualifying play last October. The game ended 1-1, Latvia have picked up two draws since, while Turkey are battling to get back into serious qualification contention. The last three games between the two sides have ended in draws, a 2013 friendly fixture produced a highly entertaining 3-3 draw.

Group A is a tough group. It includes the Czech Republic and Netherlands, and Iceland have also emerged as a serious contender, they currently top qualification. Turkey have picked up a pair of wins against Kazakhstan and a good away draw against the Dutch, but their 1-1 draw in Latvia is looking like a serious blemish. They can afford nothing less than a win from the game on Thursday night as they face up to their final three games against the group’s “big three”.

Latvia were held to a draw by Kazakhstan in their opening game, but haven’t had a poor qualifying campaign. They picked up deserved draws against Turkey and Czech Republic and still have a shot at picking up a win when they face their fellow Kazakh minnows against at the end of group play. Of course, they are not serious threats to qualify and a trip to Turkey represents a significant challenge.

Three Reasons for Betting Tips

1. Turkish urgency

Turkey will have some serious urgency in their approach to this game considering the state of play in the group. They can’t afford anything other than three points from this match-up and we expect them to pursue it and also to make good on that.

2. Previous match-ups

They haven’t broken down Latvia in recent clashes, but we like the fact that there is recent history motivating the Turks in this match-up. This game will mean a little more than a typical qualifying clash against a weak opposition.

3. Turkey’s defensive record

Throughout their struggles, Turkey have remained a strong defensive team conceding just eight goals in six games. We’ll back them to prevent Latvia from scoring and we’ll gamble on them getting some chances too.