Turkey Travels to Iceland for Second Match of the World Cup Qualifiers
Published October 9, 2016 by Florin P
Iceland is under pressure to prove that their recent European success was not a fluke (7:45 p.m UK Time).
Group I is a highly contested one, with neither Iceland nor Turkey being favorites to qualify. They’re probably fighting for the second-place and that’s why the impact of this direct match is going to be so important. Nobody can afford to lose, but the home side is under heavy pressure to win.
1-1 Draws for Both Teams
Iceland traveled to Ukraine in the first match of the qualifiers and only managed to salvage one point. They can consider themselves lucky to get away with a draw after the hosts missed a penalty in the last 10 minutes. Once again, it was Iceland who came out firing on all cylinders and managed to score the opening goal. They made the mistake of retreating in the home half and allowing the hosts to take the initiative.
Against Turkey, they are not going to make the same mistake and are expected to maintain the same high tempo throughout the match. The visitors are prone to allowing goals when they play on the road and haven’t kept a clean sheet in the official match in months. Despite having so many footballers playing for prominent European clubs, Iceland doesn’t have anyone injured ahead of this fixture.
Better Performances on the Road for Turkey
Despite the fact that the home side creates an amazing atmosphere when Turkey plays at home, the team has performed better on the road. Winning against Iceland in Reykjavík isn’t exactly a walk in the park, but the terms can definitely do it. They greatly improved their game over the last few months and were better than expected against Croatia.
Turkey has a hard time keeping the ball, but sends a hail of shots at the opposing net and this can help against Iceland. It’s difficult to pick a winner in this fixture and that’s why punters would be better off betting on the number of goals. They will enjoy even odds if they take bet365 sports on the over 2.5 goals market, a very likely outcome given the offensive football played by both teams.
