UEFA Nations League Matchday 1 Odds & Picks – Sept 4

• The 2020-21 UEFA Nations League starts on Thursday, September 3, with a revised format
• On Friday, September 4, there are eight games in leagues A, B, and C
• See all the odds for Friday’s games and we’ll preview three, offering a best bet for each

The UEFA Nations League is back, with the first round of games for the 2020-21 tournament spanning from Thursday, September 3 through to Tuesday, September 8. The format has been changed slightly with Leagues A, B and C now comprising for four groups of four teams, with League D being made up of one group of four and another of three.

We’ll list all eight games scheduled for Friday, September 4, show the odds, preview three, and offer a pick for each.

UEFA Nations League September 4 – Odds

All odds taken Sept  3

Pick 1: Romania vs Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland’s successful Michael O’Neill era has ended, and now they are under the management of former Under-21s coach Ian Baraclough. He has a lot to live up to, given how well O’Neill did in the hot seat, but the Irish will head into this Group B1 campaign with confidence. Baraclough inherits a young squad that developed a positive mindset over the O’Neill years, and they’ll head to Bucharest with no fear. They will however need to improve upon their 2018-19 Nations League campaign, where they lost four out of four.

📸 Big shift in the pouring rain at training this morning ☔️ #GAWA pic.twitter.com/STe8OPYLwd

— Northern Ireland (@NorthernIreland) September 2, 2020

For the Ulstermen, this tie and the home game against Norway on Monday will double as warm-ups for their upcoming Euro 2021 playoff game with Bosnia-Herzegovina. Last time out they were humbled 6-1 in Frankfurt by a rampant Germany, but this will be a very different affair.

Romania too have a new head coach in the form of Mirel Radoi – also formerly their Under-21s coach – and his first job is to lift the spirit of his squad who blew up on the run-in of their European Championship qualifying campaign, earning just a single point from their final three games to finish fourth and miss out on a playoff spot. Radoi’s first squad is based around experience over youth but, like Northern Ireland, the Romanians are not full of goals. On that basis, the value here is with the draw, maybe even a goalless one.

Pick: Romania & Northern Ireland to draw (+225)

Baraclough inherits a young Northern Ireland squad that developed a positive mindset over the O’Neill years, and they’ll head to Bucharest with no fear

Pick 2: Scotland vs Israel

Scotland and Israel kick off their Nations League Group B2 campaign at Hampden Park on Friday in what is effectively a dress rehearsal for their Euro 2021 play-off in October. Both will be looking for a psychological boost ahead of that crucial tie.

🔜 One day to go.

💪 Fine-tuning preparations at @OriamScotland.#SCOISR pic.twitter.com/joLz9XyLo2

— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) September 3, 2020

For Scotland, the appointment of Steve Clarke as head coach has led to an improvement in fortunes, after a very lean spell, and wins in each of their three final Euro 21 qualifiers earned them the aforementioned playoff place. While Hampden Park – usually a noise-filled cauldron – will be empty on Friday, the Scots still head into this as favorites.

Israel’s form has been the polar opposite of Scotland’s, with defeats in each of their last two qualifiers – against North Macedonia and Poland – seeing them end the campaign on a downward trajectory. In fact, they have only won one of their last seven games in all competitions.

These two sides have only met five times, with Scotland winning four and losing just one and I see a similar outcome here. There won’t be many goals though, so, for me, there’s value in a one-goal home win.

Pick: Scotland to win 2-1 (+750) 

Pick 3: Slovakia vs Czech Republic

These two big rivals meet again in Bratislava of Friday, with readers of a certain age recalling when they were as one as Czechoslovakia. This merely adds to the rivalry in a game that’s known as the ‘Federal Derby’, and in a group that also contains Scotland and Israel, both will be desperate for a winning start.

Slovakia, while losing only one of their last five, have struggled to string wins together, albeit they did beat Azerbaijan 2-0 in their last competitive match. Prior to that, we have to go back to September 2019 when they won 2-1 away in Hungary. Since then they have struggled for goals.

For the Czechs, last time out they lost 1-0 in Bulgaria but prior to that had won three out of four, and their record against Slovakia – they became two separate countries in 1993 – is very good with seven wins out of their 10 meetings. The Czechs, however, struggle on the road, having lost four of their previous five competitive away games, and it’s for that reason I’m drawn to the +180 on offer for the Slovakia win.

Pick: Slovakia to win (+180)