Sports Blog 05/09/2016: FIFA World Cup 2018 Qualifiers – Wales vs Moldova/Serbia vs Republic of Ireland, Monday 5th September 2016

Can Wales build on their remarkable Euro 2016 with a strong start to their 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign against Moldova, at 7.45pm on Sky Sports 1?

After that heady semi-final finish there will be a new found swagger in the Welsh camp; that comes, however, with a new set of pressures, namely that now the country are no longer plucky underdogs but rather are expected to reach Russia with relative ease. In that regard Monday night’s game may not be the best reflection of Wales’ current state, coming so soon after their French fairytale.



Aaron Ramsey is out injured, thanks to an opening day knock against Liverpool, as is Crystal Palace’s Jonny Williams. Key cog Ashley Williams still isn’t back to full fitness, while Hal Robson-Kanu, who scored twice in France, is yet to play this season having remained club-less until a transfer day deal with West Brom.

Yet this may not end up mattering very much for a couple of reasons. Firstly, and most importantly, Gareth Bale, who has a massive Super Mega PGM of 75-87, will be playing. The Welsh wizard opened his 2016/17 account within 30 seconds of Real Madrid’s season-starter against Real Sociedad, completing a brace with nearly the last kick of the game. Even an ounce of that form against Moldova should push Wales to a win.

Secondly, even when you factor in the vagaries that make FIFA rankings only a loose gauge of form at best, a 154 place gap between Wales and Moldova suggests that the former might not be too troubled at the Cardiff City Stadium (the latter even lost at home to Lichtenstein in their Euro 2016 qualifier). Bar a bizarre, England/Iceland-esque upset, Chris Coleman should be confident of a win, our traders offering a Wales/Moldova Goal Supremacy spread of 1.75-1.95 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.45-2.65.

One imagines things will be slightly more difficult for the Republic of Ireland when they kick off their campaign with a trip to Serbia, at 7.45pm on Sky Sports 2. Making it to the last 16 of the Euros was no mean feat for Ireland, especially considering their Group D mates were Italy, Belgium and Sweden. Yet even more so than Wales Ireland cannot rest on their laurels, especially since a) they are in the same group as Coleman’s side and b) they will be without Robbie Keane in the squad for the first time in 14 years.



Serbia, who failed to reach France despite being in one of the easier qualification groups, will be looking to make up for lost ground when they host the Irish in Belgrade. Newcastle’s fiery Aleksander Mitrovic is their best chance going forwards, while they still have aging captain Branislav Ivanoic in defence and Southampton’s Dusan Tadic in midfield. According to our traders this may well be enough to see they nab a home win, with Spreadex offering a Serbia/Republic of Ireland Goal Supremacy spread of 0.25-0.45 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.1-2.3.