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Romania vs Northern Ireland betting tips
Northern Ireland will take on Romania in an international friendly on Friday night (7.45pm, Viaplay Sports Online).
Michael O’Neill’s side missed out on Euro 2024, so they will already be looking towards the start of their Nations League campaign in the second half of this year.
Romania did book a spot at this summer’s tournament in Germany and they will begin their preparations with this match in Bucharest.
Football betting sites fancy the hosts to come out on top, but can Northern Ireland cause an upset?
O’Neill’s team rightly underdogs
Northern Ireland memorably qualified for Euro 2016, the first time the tournament featured 24 teams. They missed out on the next edition, but they did at least reach the qualification play-offs for Euro 2020.
This time around, however, Northern Ireland did not come close to booking a spot at the continental competition. They won only three games in Group H, and two of those were against San Marino. O’Neill’s team ultimately finished 13 points adrift of the top two.
Of course, a country the size of Northern Ireland cannot be expected to consistently compete with the strongest sides in Europe. But O’Neill will be hoping to oversee at least one victory in this international break, with Northern Ireland set to face Scotland after the clash with Romania.
The home team are justifiably favourites on gambling sites to triumph on Friday. They impressed in Euro 2024 qualifying, topping a group that also contained Switzerland and Israel.
They are big outsiders in the Euro 2024 odds to perform well in Germany this summer, but are perhaps being underestimated by online bookmakers.
Edward Iordanescu’s side are on an 11-match unbeaten run and they will probably prove too strong for Northern Ireland in this one.
Northern Ireland vs Romania Tip 1: Romania to win - 5/6 Unibet
Goals could be at a premium
Northern Ireland struggled to put the ball in the back of the net throughout their Euro 2024 qualification campaign.
Their 10 matches produced only nine goals, five of which came against San Marino. They drew a blank in 60 per cent of their qualifiers.
O’Neill, now in his second spell in charge of the national team, does not have much in the way of top-class attacking talent at his disposal.
Northern Ireland have high hopes for the 19-year-old Callum Marshall of West Ham United (currently on loan at West Bromwich Albion), but Dion Charles will probably lead the line on Friday.
Romania’s successful qualification for the European Championship was built on a solid backline. They conceded only five goals in their 10 qualifiers. Only France, England, Croatia, Belgium, Portugal and Albania had better defensive records. Meanwhile, Romania have kept clean sheets in each of their last three home matches.
With all that in mind, this is unlikely to be a high-scoring, end-to-end encounter and it's worth considering the under options in the total goals markets on betting apps.
Northern Ireland vs Romania Tip 2: Under 2.5 goals - 4/6 BetUK
Romania have right Man for the job
It is not easy to predict the starting XIs that both managers will select for this match. For one, neither Romania nor Northern Ireland has played a game since November.
It is also unclear whether Iordanescu intends to select his strongest possible side in the run-up to Euro 2024, or to use this as an opportunity to experiment.
Either way, Dennis Man will feel he has done enough in recent months to earn a place in the Romania team.
He only started one of the six qualifiers between September and November, but the right-sided forward is enjoying an excellent season at Parma, who are well on their way to securing promotion back to Serie A.
Man has scored 13 goals in 29 games in all competitions this term. If he is given a chance from the start of Friday’s game, the 25-year-old will be desperate to make an impression and show that he deserves to be in the mix for a starting spot at Euro 2024.
Northern Ireland vs Romania Tip 3: Dennis Man to score any time - 11/4 bet365
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Last Updated: 21st March 2024, 05:00 PM
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