The 2018 World Cup starts this week on Thursday 14th of June and is a huge gambling festival with hundreds of betting lines and markets available from ante-post betting to individual match betting. At betplanet.net we have chosen three fixtures from the group stage – round 1 with match overviews, selected betting odds and some recommended bets.
Note: Odds provided are not always fixed and subject to change
Fixture 1 – Russia vs Saudi Arabia
Match day: Thursday 14th June
Kick off: 18:00 (UTC+3)
Stadium: Luzhniki (Moscow)
1x2
Russia @ 1.33
Draw @ 4.33
Saudi Arabia @ 9.50
To win the World Cup outright
Russia are 51.00 and Saudi Arabia are 1001.00
We want to get gambling right away so why not the very first game of the tournament?
Russia are the hosts and will be looking to start well in front of their home fans. As Russia, (not the USSR) they have never got out of the group stage and have only won two of their last nine games at the 1994, 2002 and 2014 World Cups so they will be really trying hard with home support to win this easiest of fixtures. They have Golovin in midfield who is exceptionally talented and Smolov in attack who has scored 14 goals in 21 appearances in the Russian Premier League.
Saudi Arabia have reached the 2nd round once in the 1994 World cup. In qualification, they finished second in their group behind Japan and ahead of Australia. They have changed their manager twice since qualification started. They have Mohammad Al-Sahlawi who has scored 28 goals for the national team.
Selected markets, odds and recommended
Recommended Bets
| 1x2 | *Russia @ 1.33 vs Saudi Arabia @ 9.50 [Draw 4.33] |
| Both teams to score | Yes @ 2.62 *No @ 1.44 |
| Correct Score | Russia to win 2-1 @ 9.50, *2-0 @ 5.00, 3-0 @ 7.50, *4-0 @ 15.00 Saudi Arabia to win 1-0 @ 15.00 |
| Total Goals O/U | Under 2.5 @ 1.61 *Over 2.5 @ 2.20 |
| Double Result | *Russia / Russia @ 1.95 Draw / Russia @ 3.80 |
| First Half Betting | *Russia @ 1.85 Draw @ 2.10 Saudi Arabia @ 9.00 |
| First Half Correct Score | Russia 1-0 @ 3.00, *Russia 2-0 @ 6.50, 0-0 @ 2.30, Saudi Arabia 1-0 @ 11.00 |
| Match x goals | Russia win and Under 2.5 goals @ 2.75 *Over 2.5 goals @ 2.40 |
| Goal Scorer | Fedor Smolov to Score - First / Last @ 3.50 |
| Period Markets | A Goal to Be Scored In the First 15 Minutes @ 4.00 |
| Other Markets | Russia to Win 2-0 or 2-1 @ 3.75 |
Fixture 2 – Brazil vs Switzerland
Match day: Sunday 17th June
Kick off: 21:00 (UTC+3)
Stadium: Rostov-on-Don
1x2
*Brazil @ 1.36
Draw @ 4.60
Switzerland @ 7.50
To win the World Cup outright
Brazil are 5.00 and Switzerland are 101.00
Brazil have won the world cup five times and have Neymar, Coutinho, Firminio, Jesus and Casemiro. They finished top of the South American league easily and will be looking to get to a good start to make up for their embarrassing exit (losing to Germany 7-1 in the semi-final) at their home World Cup in 2014. They are also the tournament favorites.
Switzerland have Xherdan and Xhaka. They qualified 2nd behind Portugal and beat Northern Ireland to qualify in the play off. They will be looking to get through by drawing this game and winning the other two. They are a defensive team.
Selected markets, odds and recommended
Recommended Bets
| 1x2 | *Brazil @ 1.36 vs Switzerland @ 7.50 [Draw is 4.60] |
| Correct Score | Brazil to win *2-1 @ 8.50, 2-0 @ 5.00, *3-0 @ 8.00, 3-1 @ 12.00, Switzerland to win 1-0 @ 17.00 |
| To Win to Nil | Brazil to win to 0 @ 1.91 |
| Double Result | *Brazil / Brazil @ 1.95, Draw / Brazil @ 4.00 |
| Handicap | Brazil -2 goals win @ 3.70, *-2 goals draw @ 4.00, -2 goals lose @ 1.65 |
| Total match goals O/U | Under 2.5 @ 1.85 *Over 2.5 @ 1.85 |
| First half betting | *Brazil @ 1.85 Draw @ 2.25 Switzerland @ 7.00 |
| Scoring both halves | *Brazil to score in both halves @ 2.30 |
| Period Markets | Brazil to Score in the first 15 Minutes @ 4.50 |
| Goal Scorer - Neymar | Neymar to score - First / Last @ 3.50 |
| Goal Scorer - Coutinho | Philippe Coutinho to Score - First / Last - @ 7.50 |
| Other Markets | *Brazil to Win 3-0, 3-1 or 4-1 @ 5.00 |
Fixture 3 – Columbia vs Japan
Match day: Tuesday 19th June
Kick off: 15:00 (UTC+3)
Stadium: Saransk
1x2
Columbia @ 1.67
Draw @ 3.50
Japan @ 5.50
To win the World Cup outright
Columbia are 34.00 and Japan are 251.00
Columbia finished fourth in the South American League qualification group behind Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina. This is their 6th World Cup and they reached the quarter finals in 2014. They are unpredictable but very strong. They have Falcao, Rodriguez (2014 Golden Boot Winner) in attack and Sanchez and Zapata as solid defenders.
Japan qualified quite easily from the Asian groups ahead of Saudi Arabia and Australia. This will also be their 6th World Cup. They reached round 2 in 2002 (held in Japan and South Korea) and in 2010. They are a mess. They have had very poor friendly results and cannot seem to score freely. They also have inferiority complex issues when it comes to playing against European and South American teams. They have Honda, Kagawa and Okazaki in attack but the manager refuses to pick them or his strongest team.
Selected markets, odds and recommended
Recommended Bets
| 1x2 | *Columbia 1.67 vs Japan 5.50 [Draw 3.50] |
| Both teams to score | Yes @ 2.20 *No @ 1.61 |
| Correct Score | Columbia to win 2-1@ 8.50, 2-0 @ 6.50, *3-0 @ 12.00, *4-0 @ 26.00, Japan to win 1-0 @ 11.00 |
| Total Match goals O/U | Under 2.5 @ 1.61 *Over 2.5 @ 2.20 |
| Double Result | *Columbia / Columbia @ 2.62 Draw / Columbia @ 4.20 |
| Match x goals | Columbia win and Under 2.5 goals @ 3.30 *Over 2.5 goals @ 2.90 |
| Colombia won by | Colombia to Win By 2 or More Goals @ 3.50 |
| 1st half BTTS | Both Teams to Score in 1st Half @ 6.50 |
| Columbia to score in 1st half | *Yes @ 1.85 No @ 1.85 |
| Goal Scorer - Falcao | Radamel Falcao to Score 2 or More Goals @ 9.00 |
| Goal Scorer - Rodriguez | Rodriguez to Score First @ 6.00 |
Final Word
Putting any of these bets or ones you choose in to doubles and trebles helps to increase the odds and your profits dramatically. You can also use doubles and trebles as insurance against larger bets on singles.
We will be posting more fixtures and betting information for the second and third series of fixtures later in the week! Good luck!
