Morocco v Spain – Sofyan Amrabat To Get A Card
Spain are heavy favourites to make the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup with Morocco already upsetting the odds to merely make the round of 16. Victories over Belgium and Canada mean Walid Regragui’s team mustn’t be underestimated, but the 2010 World Cup winners certainly have the talent advantage.
Not only this, Spain will dominate possession. Luis Enrique likes his team to play with the ball and they have had a larger share of possession per match than any other side at the 2022 World Cup so far. This will tempt Morocco into desperate tackles and Sofyan Amrabat is the best bet to be shown a yellow card.
Amrabat has a reputation for being a combative presence in the centre of the pitch. The Fiorentina midfielder will be tasked with stopping the likes of Gavi and Pedri from playing through the Morocco mid-block and that job will come with an occupational hazard. Amrabat has already been shown one yellow card at this World Cup.
Morocco v Spain – Under 2.5 Total Goals By Spain
Spain will almost certainly control possession against Morocco, but there’s no guarantee they will be able to translate this into goals. This has been the primary problem for Enrique during his tenure as Spanish national team manager with a lack of cutting edge costing his side at Euro 2020 last year.
Seven goals against Costa Rica suggested Spain had find an extra dimension in the attacking third, but they followed that up by scoring just once in back-to-back matches against Germany and Japan. Enrique’s preference for deploying Marco Asensio as a ‘false nine’ hasn’t exactly helped on the goal-scoring front.
Alvaro Morata has the potential to be the number nine Spain need, as demonstrated by his tidy finish against Germany, but the Atletico Madrid forward has a reputation for being wasteful inside the penalty box. Morocco will sit deep and absorb pressure. This match could be a tight one, at least in terms of the scoreline.
Portugal v Switzerland – Switzerland To Go Through
Switzerland have earned themselves a reputation for being major tournament overachievers through the years. They have made the last 16 of four of the last five World Cups including this one and made the quarter-finals of Euro 2020 last year after beating world champions France. They are a dangerous outfit.
They could be even more dangerous now that Murat Yakin has liberated Switzerland’s attacking line. This was demonstrated in Switzerland’s 3-2 win over Serbia and the 1-0 win over Cameroon which included a wonderfully constructed 20-pass goal. This is a different sort of Switzerland team to the one that grinned out results under Vladimir Petkovic.
Portugal, on the other hand, struggled to handle South Korea in quick transition in their final group game, losing 2-1. That could also be an issue against Switzerland who like to attack in the wide areas. Xherdan Shaqiri will be a particular threat with Breel Embolo finding his shooting boots against Serbia. They are overpriced at 37/20.
Graham’s Treble – £10 returns £100
*Click image to add directly to betslip. Odds subject to fluctuation
