International Football – European Championship 2008 Qualifying

The Republic of Ireland take on minnows San Marino on Wednesday night (kick off 7:30pm) in one of seven scheduled qualifying matches for the 2008 European Championships.

Defenders Steven Carr and Richard Dunne and goalkeeper Shay Given make welcome returns to the Irish squad, which means Sheffield United stopper Paddy Kenny misses out on a place despite being back to full fitness as do several of the young players that starred in the Irish's last game – a 1-1 draw against the Czech Republic. Striker Kevin Doyle who has adapted well recently to life in the Premiership with Reading will also make a return to International action by partnering Robbie Keane up front, whereas Clinton Morrison is likely to miss out after suffering a shin injury.

The full team that is likely to play on Wednesday night is; Given, O'Shea, McShane, Dunne, Finnan, Duff, Carsley, Reid, Kilbane, Keane, Doyle.

The Republic suffered an embarrassing 5-2 defeat away to Cyprus last month and will need to be careful of complacency in this fixture which on paper looks a very easy win. The Irish are in desperate need of all three points as they have only managed a solitary draw so far in this qualifying campaign from their three games and they are lying second from bottom in their group. The betting for this tie is totally one-sided as the ROI are priced at a best available 1/50 with VC Bet, whilst San Marino as always are a huge price at 100 with UK Betting and the draw is priced at a best available 18/1 with extra bet.

Perhaps the pick of the other fixtures being played on Wednesday evening is the game in Brussels where Belgium take on Poland. The Poles preparation has been affected by the withdrawal of four players. Defender Krzysztof Lagiewka has food poisoning, striker Grzegorz Rasiak has a rib injury, Mariusz Lewandowski has flu and winger Jacek Krzynówek has a bad back. Belgium keeper Stijn Stijnen is a major doubt for the encounter after the Club Brugge goalkeeper suffered a broken finger at the weekend so either Brian Vandenbussche or Geert De Vlieger will fill in. The betting for this tie is extremely tight with the home side on offer at 23/17 with expect.com; the away side are priced at 11/5 with Bet365 and the draw is 9/4 with Total Bet and Stan James.

Huge odds on favourites Germany take on Cyprus away in Nicosia and can move two points clear at the top of Group D if they win. It's highly likely that will be the case as on paper this looks as one-sided affair as possible, however the Germans will have to be careful not to be complacent as their hosts were 5-2 winners in their last home qualifier against the Republic of Ireland. If you fancy another surprise result then you can get a huge 16/1 on the Cypriots with bet365. The Germans don't offer too much value on the single at 1/5 with Paddy Power and Coral.

There are seven matches in total being played tonight, these are listed below along with the kick off times and best available prices in brackets.

Belgium (23/17) v Poland (11/5) Draw (9/4) 19:30
Cyprus (16/1) v Germany (1/5) Draw (6/1) 19:00
FYR Macedonia (7/2) v Russia (9/10) Draw (23/10) 16:00
Finland (1/5) v Armenia (12/1) Draw (5/1) 17:00
Israel (23/10) v Croatia (6/4) Draw (9/4) 17:00
Portugal (1/25) v Kazakhstan (50/1) Draw (9/1) 21:00
Rep of Ireland (1/50) v San Marino (100/1) Draw (18/1) 19:30

Good luck with your selections.

Ed note: Make your Euro 2008 bets at VC Bet. New account holders get a free £20 wager

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