Sport
TACKLING THE £2,000,000 MILLIONAIRE
What an interesting set of fixtures we have for this week’s Millionaire. The selection is likely to fox the very best of you with friendly internationals sat alongside games from the lower reaches of the English football league.
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We kick off in Alicante…
Spain vs. England
The recent withdrawals of Sergio Ramos and Juanfran will hit the Spanish hard, especially in light of the fact that they were already missing the mercurial talents of David Silva.
England by contrast approach the friendly in the best of form. No other teams sailed through their European Championship qualifiers in quite the manner of Roy Hodgson’s side.
However, trips to Spain have rarely been successful for the Three Lions.
Friendly or not England will want to win this game, but they will have to do a darn sight better than most of their predecessors.
It’s been 28 years since England have even scored on Spanish soil. That same fixture in February 1987 was also the last time England beat Spain on their own patch.
Wayne Rooney, the great white hope, is in the midst of an appalling run of form so if goals are to flow they won’t come via Manchester United’s finest.
Per recent games between the sides, this won’t be a high-scoring affair, nor will the visitors break their hoodoo.
1-0 or 2-0 home win are my selections.
Wales vs. Netherlands
There was a time when the outcome of this fixture would never be in doubt, but my how the tables have turned.
Wales now find themselves in the richest vain of form for some while, mainly thanks to Gareth Bale, while Netherlands look a shadow of the side that Louis Van Gaal took to the World Cup semi finals just 16 months ago.
The teams have met twice before with Netherlands emerging victorious by 2-0 on both occasions.
However, so poor have the Dutch become that they’ve only managed to emerge victorious in games against Kazakhstan and Latvia in their last six competitive fixtures. Hardly footballing superpowers with the greatest of respect.
Given the history of dressing room discontent, one can only imagine the mess that Danny Blind needs to recalibrate to get something like a compelling, strong and forceful XI out on the pitch and firing against the Welsh.
Chris Coleman has no such concerns, Wales enjoying a fine period of success under his stewardship.
At home, this game is only heading one way. A debut victory for Wales, 2-0 or 2-1 my selections.
Rochdale vs. Wigan
Although nine places separate these two League One sides, they remain just six points apart, meaning that a win for the hosts brings them to within another victory of troubling the upper echelons of the table.
It will be a tough ask for the ‘Dale as Gary Caldwell’s Wigan side have lost just twice since early August. However, currently nine unbeaten, five have been draws indicating that Athletic are falling a little short when trying to close out games.
Rochdale are the draw masters too, taking a point from all of their last four games.
The home side’s main problem is hitting the back of the net with three of those four games ending goalless.
It will be a shock if this ends up anything other than a 0-0 or 1-1.
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Colchester vs. Coventry
The Midlanders seem to have been revitalised by the surprise loan signing of ex-West Ham, Chelsea and Liverpool star Joe Cole.
Although Adam Armstrong remains their danger man with 12 goals already this season, Cole has give the visitors the filip they needed.
Nine goals in their last three outings speaks of an outfit that are high on quality finishing at present. It’s the worst possible scenario for Colchester who have shipped 16 goals in their last five fixtures.
34 goals conceded in their 16 games is easily the worst in the division and tells its own story.
If Tony Humes can’t shore up his backline then this could be another embarrassing episode for the Essex boys.
Cole could run riot here if he’s allowed time on the ball. 0-3, 1-3 or AOA for your coupon.
Ukraine vs. Slovenia
The results in the first legs of the European Championship play-offs could well determine who goes forward to the tournament next summer.
As such, every team involved will want to get off to the best possible start.
Slovenia won’t be too enamoured about a trip to an in-form Ukraine side and will look to frustrate for long periods, perhaps even settling for a five-man midfield to dilute the influence of Sevilla’s Yevhen Konoplyanka in particular.
His club form is mirrored by that when playing for his country and it’s surely just a matter of time before a Premier League team snap him up.
The wide man has been the chief reason why Ukraine have lost just one of their last six, against a strong Spain side.
The visitors are unbeaten in three, but have come up short when playing against any teams of note.
A fairly routine home win here, 2-0 or 3-0 are my selections.
Sweden vs. Denmark
Sweden manager Erik Hamren made a surprise inclusion in his squad for the visit of Denmark.
Emir Kujovic, 27, is uncapped at international level but a top scoring season for Norrkoping, who took the Swedish league title for the first time since 1989 as a result, has seen him get his reward.
The match will of course be about Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Missing from the World Cup finals of 2014 thanks to a play-off defeat to Portugal, a similar failure here is likely to spell the end of his international career.
Another major tournament without one of the game’s biggest personalities would be a great shame.
Denmark will present a tough test and it’s by no means a given that Sweden will get an easy passage to the finals.
Friendlies aside, two narrow losses to Portugal including a last-gasp defeat are the only blips on Morten Olsen’s copybook in the last year or so.
This one will be close indeed, but I’m tipping Sweden to triumph thanks to home advantage and some Zlatan magic.
1-0 and 2-1 are my final selections this week.
