Graham Ruthven | Something for the weekend: UEFA Nations League

Player to score – Dani Olmo (Denmark v Spain) 14/5

With Lamine Yamal out injured, the onus will fall on Dani Olmo to give Spain another attacking dimension against Denmark in their UEFA Nations League match on Saturday. Olmo has only just returned from injury himself, but has scored five goals in just six league games for Barcelona this season and is in good form. Of course, Olmo was joint-top scorer for Spain as they won Euro 2024 and so there’s good reason to believe Luis de la Fuente will trust him to get into the opposition penalty box. Spain have scored eight times in their last three games in the Nations League and are favourites to beat Denmark again this weekend.

Over 2.5 total goals – Belgium v Italy (57/50)

One of this week’s marquee match-ups in the UEFA Nations League will see Belgium host Italy in a game that could go a long way to deciding who qualifies from League A Group 2 for next summer’s Finals. These two teams shared four goals in a 2-2 draw last month and this could be another exciting encounter. Mateo Retegui is scoring for fun for club and country while Belgium have the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Lois Openda and Dodi Lukebakio to give them attacking threat. What’s more, there has been over 2.5 goals in five of the last six matches between Belgium and Italy in all competitions.

Match to be a draw – Scotland v Croatia (12/5)

Scotland are still searching for their first win in this year’s UEFA Nations League, but they have been more competitive than their results suggest. Indeed, Steve Clarke’s side lost narrowly to Croatia in Zagreb last month having performed well enough to at least claim a point. It was a similar story against Poland and Portugal in September. Croatia come into Friday’s game at Hampden on the back of a 3-3 draw against Poland that highlighted the defensive weaknesses in Zlatko Dalic’s team. Scotland could take advantage of those to put another point on the board ahead of next week’s final group game away to Poland. Both teams to score – Republic of Ireland v Finland (23/20) This UEFA Nations League campaign has been a disappointing one for the Republic of Ireland with Heimir Hallgrímsson’s team’s only win coming away to Finland. The Boys In Green might fancy their chances of completing the double over Finland, but keeping a clean sheet at home might prove troublesome. Ireland haven’t kept a clean sheet in a match at the Aviva Stadium since a 0-0 draw in a friendly against Belgium in March. Since then, they have conceded at home to Switzerland, Hungary, England and Greece. Finland will have opportunities and there’s a good chance they will convert at least one of them.

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Realistically, England need all three points against Greece on Thursday night to stand any chance of finishing top of their UEFA Nations League group. Lee Carsley’s team lost to the same opponents last month and better will be expected of The Three Lions at the Olympic Stadium in Athens. Greece have conceded just one goal in four Nations League games and have earned a reputation for being difficult to beat under new manager Ivan Jovanovic. This won’t be an easy game for England who were picked off by the Greeks at Wembley last month. Thursday’s match could follow a similar pattern.

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