England vs Northern Ireland Betting analysis

England resume their World Cup qualification campaign this Saturday with a home game against Northern Ireland at Old Trafford. That match is followed next Wednesday with a second game against Azerbaijan at St.James' Park.At present Sven Goran Eriksson's players head group six with ten points, followed closely by Poland on nine points. For automatic qualification to be achieved comfortably there can not be any slip-ups over the next week. The bookies are certainly not envisaging any problems for England, quoting them as short as 1/8 to take maximum points against Northern Ireland. This of course is a price not worth bothering with and so we should look elsewhere for a potential bet. As would be expected for such a game, the majority of bookmakers are making Michael Owen odds-on to score at any point during the match. The exceptions are Coral who go even money and bluesq who go slightly better at 11/10. Admittedly this season has been one of frustration for the Madrid striker with appearances at a premium at the Bernabeu. However, Owen has still found the net 12 times and has always looked sharp when appearing in La Liga. The England striker will no doubt relish a full ninety minutes against one of the Europe's weaker teams, and should by the end of the match have at least one more International goal to his name. Take the 11/10 at bluesq while it still lasts. Staying with the same firm and it is also worth snapping up the 17/2 on offer for Frank Lampard to score first. The Chelsea midfielder has found the net with regularity this season, as well as notching the first in the last home qualifier against Wales.Get a free twenty five pound bet with Blue Square