Home / Football / Robbie Keane A Good Bet To Score First After Scoring Six In His Last Four

Rep of Ireland v Croatia Odds: Draw looks tempting in the betting

Wednesday night's international friendly between the Republic of Ireland and Croatia at the Aviva Stadium looks as though it could be an entertaining affair with both sides in good form. There is nothing to choose between the two sides in the odds as Ladbrokes price them each at 13/8 and we fancy it could be just as close in the match with the draw looking good at 9/4.

Giovanni's Trapattoni will see the match as an ideal fixture for his side to gain some much needed preparation ahead of the upcoming Euro 2012 qualifiers. His side have been in excellent form of late and he will be keen for them to continue on that upward trend.

Ireland are ranked 33 in the world and they look set to keep on climbing those rankings if recent results are anything to go by. They have won six of their last seven matches and they defeated Italy 2-0 last time out. They are a difficult side to back against even with James McCarthy, Damien Delaney, Seamus Coleman and Keith Fahey out injured.

They have called up Ciaran Clark and Conor Clifford to the squad but it is the experienced Robbie Keane who provides attractive odds. Keane is 5/1 to be first goalscorer with Ladbrokes.com and that looks a very decent punt as the striker has scored six goals in his last four international appearances. There may be some confusion over his future at Tottenham Hotspur but there is no doubting his ability on the international stage as he bids to add to his tally of 51 goals in 108 matches.

Shane Long (7/1) has joined up with the squad ahead of a potential move to West Brom, and he will compete with Kevin Doyle (6/1) for a place alongside Keane up front.

It is not just Keane's goals that have been a bonus for Ireland, as their defence has kept four consecutive clean sheets and another on Wednesday can be backed at odds of 7/4. They come up against a Croatian side that have failed to score in their last two away matches and who have never won in Dublin.

The last meeting between the two saw Robbie Keane grab the winner in a 1-0 win in 2004, although Croatia have improved plenty since then. They are now ninth in the world rankings under Slaven Bilic and they have suffered just one defeat in their last ten matches.

Croatia can boast a number of Premier League stars and Nikola Kalinic may be much maligned at Blackburn but, like Keane, he too has a fine record at international level. He has scored four goals in his last five appearances for Croatia and he can be backed at odds of 9/1 to be first goalscorer. They can also boast the creative talents of Luke Modric (10/1) and Niko Kranjcar (10/1) in their midfield and they are not a side to be underestimated.

Despite a 1-0 defeat to Georgia earlier this year, Croatia are a strong outfit and we fancy the draw could be the way to go with both sides in fine form. Ladbrokes offer 7/2 for the match to end in a score draw and the correct score of 1-1 could offer a little more value at 5/1.

Rep of Ireland v Croatia Tips

Tip #1: Match to finish as a draw @ 9/4 with Ladbrokes.com
Tip #2: Robbie Keane to score first @ 5/1 with Ladbrokes.com
Tip #3: Nikola Kalinic to score first each way @ 9/1 with Ladbrokes.com

Rep of Ireland v Croatia Odds

Match Betting

13/8 Rep of Ireland
9/4 Draw
13/8 Croatia

Correct Score Odds

6/1 Rep of Ireland 1-0
11/1 Rep of Ireland 2-0
9/1 Rep of Ireland 2-1
8/1 Draw 0-0
5/1 Draw 1-1
14/1 Draw 2-2
6/1 Croatia 1-0
10/1 Croatia 2-0
8/1 Croatia 2-1

First Goalscorer Odds

5/1 Robbie Keane
6/1 Kevin Doyle
7/1 Simon Cox
7/1 Andy Keogh
7/1 Shane Long
7/1 Eduardo
7/1 Ivica Olic
8/1 Nikica Jelavic
8/1 Mladen Petric
9/1 Damien Duff
9/1 Nikola Kalinic
10/1 Luka Modric

All odds are supplied courtesy of Ladbrokes.com, who provide over 100 other markets, including live betting in-running, for all this week's international matches.

Posted: Tuesday, 9th August 2011
Author: Chris James
Tags: republic of ireland, croatia, robbie keane, ladbrokes,

10 Latest Football Articles

	Torquay v Cheltenham Betting Back a draw in the play off second leg Cheltenham Odds On To Qualify For Final At Wembley	16th May
	Roy Hodgson announces his England squad for Euro 2012 Rio Ferdinand Out But John Terry Included In 23 Man Squad	16th May
	Benitez and Martinez battle for favouritism in the next Liverpool manager betting Jose Mourinho An Interesting Outside Punt For Anfield Job	16th May
	Southend v Crewe Betting Tempting odds for a draw at Roots Hall Bilel Mohsni Joint Favourite To Score First	15th May
	Sheffield United v Stevenage Betting Borough could cause an upset at Bramall Lane Stevenage Bid For Third Successive Promotion	14th May
	Huddersfield v MK Dons Betting Jordan Rhodes hot favourite to score first MK Dons Will Try To Upset The Odds At Galpharm Stadium	14th May
	Martinez and Lambert head the betting to be next Aston Villa manager Latest Odds Suggest Rafa Benitez Is In The Mix For Villa Job	14th May
	Everton v Newcastle Odds Back a score draw in the Goodison Park betting Nikica Jelavic Favourite To Score First	11th May
	Man City v QPR Odds Blues hot favourites to win the title at the Etihad City Bid For First Top Flight Title Since 1968	11th May
	Stoke v Bolton Betting Wanderers have to win at the Britannia Stadium Ivan Klasnic A Tempting Bet To Score Last	11th May

Archive - Previous 5 Football Articles

	Scotland V Denmark Odds Back Danish Side To Win To Nil At Hampden Denmark have won to nil in the last five meetings with Scotland	9th Aug
	Wales V Australia Betting Tim Cahill Favourite To Score First Australia marginal favourites for international friendly	9th Aug
	Premier League Season Betting Preview Man Utd Short Odds For 13th Title Newly promoted Swansea favourites to be relegated	8th Aug
	Premier League Top Goalscorer Odds Back Van Persie In The Golden Boot Betting Javier Hernandez favourite to score most league goals this season	8th Aug
	Arsenal Under Threat In The Premier League Top Four Betting Liverpool available at short odds to break into the top four	8th Aug

Headline News

	Benitez And Martinez Battle For Favouritism In The Next Liverpool Manager Betting Jose Mourinho An Interesting Outside Punt For Anfield Job
	Roy Hodgson Announces His England Squad For Euro 2012 Rio Ferdinand Out But John Terry Included In 23 Man Squad
	Dante Stakes Odds Bonfire Set To Light Up York In Derby Trial Mandaean And Ernest Hemingway Also Being Backed
	Middleton Stakes Odds Izzi Top Likely Favourite In Close Betting Race At York I
	Eurovision Song Contest Odds Predict Middle Of The Road Position UKs Middle Of The Road Entry Russian Grannies Still On Top

£250 Free Bet - Paddypower

BRAND NEW £250 free bets offer.

Open a new account with Paddy Power and place an initial bet of between £10 and £50
Paddy Power will match this with a free bet to the same stake
Paddy Power then let you repeat this a further four times to allow you to claim a maximum of £250 in free bets.

Open Account - Free £250 Bets With Paddypower