World Cup
2007-11-09 - Singapore vs Tajikistan
A Sports Betting Pick by Romerz
Asian Qualifier Round 2 – 1st Leg
9 November 2007 – 12.30 GMT
National Stadium, Singapore
9-18 November sees the 2nd round of 2010 World Cup Asian qualifiers for the 4 coveted spots. World ranking 140 Singapore, who had beaten Palestine 4-0 away in the 1st leg and received a walk-over from Palestine in the 2nd leg of round 1, hosts world ranking 152 Tajikistan, who progressed from round 1 by beating Bangladesh 6-1 on aggregate.
Singapore
Singapore was not too happy when Palestine failed to show for the 2nd leg in round 1 and complained that all their preparations come to nothing and it also deprived them of 1 competitive match, should be raring to go for this match.
Singapore has only recorded 1 loss out of 8 home matches this year and it was to Australia 0-3 in a friendly. In the 8 home matches played this year, Singapore recorded 3 wins, most notable of which is the 2-1 victory against Thailand in the Tiger Cup on 31 January.
In the same period, they also achieved 4 draws, notable of which were the draws against Vietnam 0-0 and Indonesia 2-2, also in the Tiger Cup on 13 & 17 January respectively.
Singapore coach Radojko Avramovic has for the first time included the S-League’s top scorer, Bosnian-born forward Aleksandar Duric, who recently got his Singapore citizenship.
However, he is expected to start on the bench as the coach has said that he intends to start with the same 11 players who played well against Palestine on 8 October.
Looking at the squad list, Singapore has a squad of players who have been together for sometime and playing as a team should not be a problem for them. Amongst the names are seasoned campaigners like Lionel Lewis, Aide Iskandar, Precious Emuejeraye, Daniel Bennett, Shi Jia Yi and Noh Alam Shah.
Tajiskistan
Tajikistan got to round 2 by beating Bangladesh 5-0 at home then drawing with Bangladesh 1-1 away. They have only played 2 away matches this year of which the 1-1 draw with Bangladesh was one and the other was a friendly with Kazakhstan which also ended 1-1. Their last away win was against Sri Lanka in the AFC Challenge Cup in April of 2006 where Tajikistan won 4-0.
It’s difficult to assess Tajikistan as they had changed most of their players between their two games (in round 1 against Bangladesh). In the 2nd leg, they had 7 new players in their starting 11 and for this match on Friday, they are bringing another three new players.
Analysis
A well prepared Singapore team plus home ground advantage should prove too much for Tajikistan who has only played against ‘weaker’ opposition this year and only managed 1 win against Bangladesh at home.
Since this match is the 1st of 2, Singapore knows that carrying a 1 or 2 goal cushion into the 2nd leg would put them in good stead.
With the inclusion of Aleksander Duric into the squad, Singapore coach Radojko Avramovic has more attacking options and can make tactical changes should Noh Alam Shah fail to deliver the goals.
Furthermore, Singapore’s defense looks solid with veterans Aide Iskandar, Precious Emuejeraye, Daniel Bennett manning the back line and Lionel Lewis tending goal.
BEST BETTING TIP :
Take Singapore to win @ 1.80(from a variety of bookies but none acceptable to TheGooner yet)
