It's the opening day of the World Cup so here are some of my fancies for the tournament.
The market I've looked at the most is the team top goalscorer markets and I think I've got three to give me a run for my money.
Medhi Taremi - Top Iran goalscorer (best price 11/4)
The logic behind this pick is that Taremi's main opponent in the market is Leverkusen's Sarder Azmoun. Azmoun has barely kicked a ball all season, he suffered injuries and it's a doubt whether he'll even get on the grass in Qatar. Taremi, however, is a key player at Porto. He has eleven goals in eighteen matches this season including five in five in the Champions League. I think Group B will be low scoring and It could be the case that just a couple of goals are needed to win this particular market.
Michy Batshuayi- Top Belgian goalscorer (best price 4/1)
I wanted a play in this market because I want to oppose favourite Romelu Lukaku. The forward isn't the same player of a couple of seasons ago, both form and fitness. I can see a world where Batshuayi is either picked ahead of him from the start or replaces him when Roberto Martinez realises that he needs to move on from Lukaku if Belgium are to go deep in the tournament. Batshuayi has started most of Belgium's more recent matches and he's the one I've invested in.
Vincent Janssen - Top Netherlands scorer (best price 20/1)
Louis van Gaal has been very open about The Netherlands likely starting XI for the opening game and has announced that in Memphis Depay's absence Janssen will start as the number 9. There are opponents worth mentioning in the market. Depay is a heavy favourite with him likely to come back into the team if he can regain fitness. Cody Gakpo is second favourite but in my opinion his form has droppped off a cliff since the end of September and the PSV man has gone from scoring nearly every game to not worrying the scoreboard at all. I can see a world where Janssen scores in Holland's opening game, doing enough to keep his place and Depay actually replaces Gakpo in the starting team and van Gaal uses him from the left. I'm willing to throw some pennies on that happening at 20/1.
Good luck with your World Cup arrows all ⚽️
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