Bet of the day: Ireland’s Long 4/1 to score first against Belarus
Robbie Purves | May 31, 2016
Coral’s bet of the day
- Shane Long has scored twice in his last two Republic of Ireland clashes
- Ireland have only been beaten once in 13 matches
- Robbie Keane is injured so Long looks set to start up front
Shane Long 4/1 to score first against Belarus
Republic of Ireland will look to gather momentum inpreparation for Euro 2016, building upon their fine qualification campaign.
Shane Long comes into this clash in great goalscoring form, netting twice in Ireland’s last two clashes. Long struck first in the Emerald Isle’s last game and Coral have him 4/1 to do the same against Belarus.
Martin O’Neill’s side have suffered just one defeat in their last 13 matches. Meanwhile, Belarus are currently experiencing a poor run of form; they last won a game in December 2015 against Slovakia, and since then have drawn three and lost one of their following four.
Long to claim top spot in Keane’s absence
Robbie Keane, rumoured to be retiring from international football after the Euros, will be denied his fairytale farewell at the national stadium.
Therefore, Long looks set to take the centre forward position from Ireland’s all-time top goalscorer and will hope to stake a claim to start in France this summer.
O’Neill is expected to rotate his line-up for this clash after their Netherlands draw, as he prepares to give some fringe players a final chance to shine ahead of naming his final squad.
However, Ireland possess depth and, with Belarus failing to score in their last four games and Ireland netting in each of their last five, expect an Ireland victory.
This is the Green Army’s last warm up game before heading to Euro 2016. O’Neill’s outfit will face a group of Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s Sweden, Belgium and Italy. Meanwhile, their final squad will be announced today before 11pm.
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