Euro 2016 preview and odds: Wales vs Northern Ireland

Published on: 25/06/2016

Euro 2016 preview and odds: Wales vs Northern Ireland

Parc des Princes, Paris - 18:00pm 25 June 2016

Round of 16

Home nation sides Wales and Northern Ireland will battle it out at the Parc de Princes in Paris on Saturday in the second of the days round of 16 clashes.

Group-toppers Wales face third-place qualifiers Northern Ireland in home nations clash

Wales were the unexpected winners of Group B ahead of fellow UK team England and will now face another British side in the last 16. As well as topping their group, Wales were also joint-top scorers in the group stages (alongside Hungary) with a total of six goals. However, they were not the tightest at the back, having conceded an average of a goal a game.

Northern Ireland qualified thanks to the new competition format that allowed them to progress despite having gained just three points from a possible nine in the group stage. Their one and only win came against a Ukraine team who failed to gain any points or score any goals at the tournament.

This clash is significant as both side are featuring in their first ever Euro finals and one of them will make it to at least the quarter-final stage at their first attempt.

The last time they faced each other in a March friendly in Cardiff, neither team could find the winning touch in a 1-1 draw. Of their 95 previous meetings, Wales won 44, Northern Ireland won 27 and the other 24 were drawn.

Form (all competitions):

Wales: WLWLL

Northern Ireland: LWLDW

Betting predictions

Wales have more than lived up to the hopes and expectations of their supporters and now have a great chance to make it to the last 8 of a European championship at their first attempt. Having topped their group, they are full of confidence and should be expected to edge past a Northern Ireland team who can consider themselves lucky to be still involved.

You can back Wales to win in 90 minutes at 21/20 with Bet365.

By Neil Morris

Published on: 25/06/2016

Any odds displayed within this preview were correct at the time of publishing (25/06/2016 12:18:50) but are subject to change.