Top 3 bets for Friday's football & rugby

Can England qualify for the World Cup tonight against Albania?

They can, though it’s unlikely tonight as Poland would also have to lose to Andorra. Gareth Southgate’s side need four points from the games against Albania tonight and San Marino on Monday to guarantee top spot in the group and automatic qualification, so it’s all about just getting the three points this evening. England won 2-0 in Albania with goals from Harry Kane and Mason Mount, and getting the skipper, who blanked last time out against Hungary after scoring in 15 straight qualifiers, back among the goals will be key.

Kane to Score 2+ (boosted to 29/10)

England’s talisman has not looked himself this season, with the rumoured transfer from Spurs to Manchester City not materialising and the defensive style of manager Nuno Espirito Santos not fitting with the skipper’s ideology. With Tottenham having made the change to Antonio Conte at the top, there is hope that Kane will have a new lease of life, and there’s no disputing his international record, with 41 goals in 65 games. Albania are 63^rd in FIFA’s rankings and England are 1/10 to win today but will be Kane be back among the goals?

Will Scotland be at next year’s World Cup?

Scotland can’t qualify automatically as they can no longer win the group, but second place is very much in their grasp and will be sealed, along with a  play-off spot, with victory in Moldova tonight. Lyndon Dykes, who has scored in the past four games, is suspended, but Che Adams will lead the line and hope to get the goals to keep the World Cup dream alive. Steve Clarke’s side won 1-0 when these two sides met at Hampden Park, and by the same score last time out in the Faroe Islands, and another 1-0 would fit the bill just fine tonight.

Total Goal Minutes (127-137)

We’ve seen some selling in the Goal Minutes markets as punters look forward to another tight encounter involving Scotland. Steve Clarke’s side look solid at the back but struggle to score at the other end, and just when they’d found a striker who knew how to score a goal, Lyndon Dykes, who became the first Scotland player since 1969 to score in four straight games with that winner in the Faroe Islands, he is forced to sit this one out.

What other sport is on tonight for the non-football fans?

This season already can’t end quickly enough for Bath, who have lost all seven of their games in the Gallagher Premiership, but attention turns to the Premiership Rugby Cup tonight as they travel to Gloucester. In what has been a disaster of a season so far, Bath’s defeat at leaders Leicester last week did provide some grounds for optimism. Having been thrashed in some games against inferior sides to the Tigers, Bath kept the score respectable last week, and got within three points of Leicester at one stage before eventually going down 40-23. Gloucester look to be an improving side, sitting in 6^th place in the Premiership table. Both sides are set to name a mixture of youth and experienced players for this Cup clash.

Performance Superiority Gloucester/Bath (73-83)

With some small indications that Bath are starting to find a bit of form, we’ve seen some selling in this Performance Superiority market. This market awards 25 points for a win, 10 for a draw, 10 for a try, 5 per kick and 10 for the last try, with -5 per missed kick, -5 for a yellow card and -10 for a red, and sellers are backing Bath to do better than expected. Given they’re 14/1, and Gloucester 1/33, it’s unlikely Bath will pull off a shock win, but if they can show more of the fight they displayed at Leicester, they could still make sellers some money even if they lose. Of course, backing a team that has lost every game comes with some risk, and the Gloucester fans would like nothing more than rubbing struggling Bath’s noses in it with a thumping victory.