A few years ago this would have been a clash between two poor sides, however, nowadays it’s a different story. Moldova might still be a poor team, but Wales have been on the upward curve for some time and are now 11th in the FIFA World Rankings.
This is Wales’ first match since their scintillating Euro 2016 campaign – a tournament where they reached the semi-finals against all the odds. Their magnificent performance was the highlight of the Euros as they showed how team spirit can overcome even the highest quality of opponent. However, the problem for Chris Coleman’s side is that they are no longer the surprise package and teams will now be better set up against them.
Having said that, Wales will be confident they can reach a second consecutive tournament by qualifying from a relatively weak Group D.
Since their independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Moldova have failed to both qualify for a major tournament or even look good in any qualification campaign. They have won just one match in two years against lowly Andorra and have only managed draws against the likes of Lichtenstein and Luxembourg during that time.
We can only expect one result here and I doubt the Welsh will have any difficulty in dispatching their opposition.
Of course this makes it a bit more difficult to find decent value bet but there are some good prices out there in certain markets.
Firstly I would go with ‘Wales To Win & Over 2.5 Goals at 5/4’. Coleman’s men should be putting the sword to Moldova in order to show their group rivals that they really mean business.
Gareth Bale finding the net is an obvious bet and, given how likely a sight he will have at goal in this match, 9/10 isn’t a bad price about him scoring. I would also back Sam Vokes to score here at 13/10. Even if he doesn’t start the match he should come on and finish off a convincing Welsh victory in Cardiff.
Having spent Burnley’s 2014/15 Premier League season injured, we never saw the best of Vokes. However, he did well at Euro 2016 when he came off the bench, memorably netting against Belgium in the quarter finals, and has started the season well for Burnley this time around – scoring with a lovely strike against Liverpool recently.
See more tips here.