[Football- UEFA Nations League] 6.9/ 15:00 Wales- Bulgaria
The second round of matches for the UEFA Nations League kick-off on Sunday afternoon with Wales hosting Bulgaria in a 2pm BST kick-off at the Cardiff City Stadium. The home side will be looking to make it two wins from their opening two games against a travelling side that will probably feel slightly aggrieved that they conceded so late in their opening game to drop 2 points.
Wales will no doubt be delighted with their 1-0 win over Finland on Thursday night. Head coach Ryan Giggs knew it was an uphill battle against a Finnish side that had won 9 of their last 10 home matches and were on cloud nine having qualified automatically for the 2020 European Championship. Matters weren't helped by key players Aaron Ramsey, David Brooks, and Joe Allen amongst others missing. The situation got even more desperate when the influential Gareth Bale was forced off at half-time. However, Giggs tinkered with his tactics as the game wore on and the break through came in the 80th minute from Kieffer Moore. The Dragons come into this game knowing they've won 5 of their last 6 matches on home turf and have kept 4 clean sheets in their last 6 home games. The return of Brooks to the squad is also a massive boost because when he's on it he can arguably be our most dangerous player.
Bulgaria had appeared to be on the brink of a perfect start to their campaign when they were heading into injury time with a 1-0 lead thanks to a 56th minute goal by Bozhidar Kraev. Unfortunately, new Celtic signing Shane Duffy nipped in to equalise in the 3rd minute of added-on time to snatch a 1-1 draw. Head coach Georgi Dermendzhiev must have been livid. That draw now makes it just 1 win from their last 15 matches. The Lions have also failed to score in 4 of their last 6 matches. Away form isn't great either with the team not managing a win on the road since 6th September, 2018 when they beat Slovenia by a 2-1 score. That's 7 away games without a win.
It's strange because this is the first time as a Welshman that I feel we are coming into more games as the favourites than the underdogs. Giggs has got us playing decent football and even though we weren't great on Thursday, that's understandable given our absentees and lack of match fitness. I feel we probably deserved the win against Finland but I can't say how big a boost Brooks coming back in is for the team. If we had Ramsey and Allen back I'd be backing us to ease to a 2-0 or 3-0 win here. We can't call on them unfortunately so it'll be tight. I can see Wales maybe sneaking a 1-0 or 2-1 win. I'd definitely take that.
1 @1,70 Bet365
FT 1:0
[Football- UEFA Nations League] 6.9/ 15:00 Wales- Bulgaria
1 @1,70
