Sweden vs Trinidad & Tobago Betting Preview

Despite my reservations about Sweden's chances going into the World Cup, Lars Largerback's side should have few problems kicking off their tournament with victory over Group B rivals Trinidad & Tobago in Dortmund this Saturday. That belief is certainly echoed by the bookies such as BlueSq, who make the men in yellow a best priced 2/7 to taste victory and put the pressure on England and Paraguay, and offer Trinidad & Tobago at 14/1, with the draw at 9/2. Sweden, who boast an admirable record in the World Cup, should prove a class above the Caribbean minnows, but don't be fooled into thinking the Swedes are in top shape heading into Germany, because that's just not the case. The Swedes have not tasted a single victory since qualifying for the World Cup last October, drawing against the likes of South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, as well as losing 3-0 against Steve Staunton's new look Ireland back in March. Admittedly, they were without a number of their bigger names for some of those games, but even when the influential trio of Henrik Larsson, Freddie Ljungberg and Zlatan Ibrahimovic returned for Friday's fixture with Chile, they could only muster a less than convincing 1-1 draw. A game that again highlighted their problems at the back, with the ageing duo of Olof Mellberg and Teddy Lucic looking vulnerable to pace, and neither midfielders Niclas Alexandersson or Mikael Nilsson failing to impress as make-shift right backs. Despite their poor run of form, manager Lars Largerback is convinced his side will "step up a level when the finals come" and although they will have to against England and Paraguay, any kind of performance will be good enough to give them maximum points against Trinidad & Tobago. The 'Soca Warriors', who will no doubt prove whipping boys in Group B have done remarkably well to reach the finals, but even gaining a single point is likely to prove beyond them in Germany, especially if there recent friendly results are anything to go by. The Caribbean's have lost their last three Internationals, going down to Wales, Slovenia and the Czech Republic without much of a fight. The likes of Dwight Yorke, Stern John and Chris Birchall will do their best on the big stage, but the truth is they lack quality almost everywhere and with a defence that looks paper-thin when put under any amount of pressure; they look completely up against it. We won't get rich backing Sweden at 2/7 though, so for an interest in the game I suggest a small wager on Swedish talisman Henrik Larsson finding the net first at a more than tempting 4/1. He might be getting on in age, but the former Celtic legend has lost none of his class in front of goal and he's sure to be in buoyant mood after cracking in a fine free kick against the Chileans on Friday night. When you consider the less than prolific Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the same price to score first, the excellent Larsson must be considered value given his scoring record, and for that reason he will be carrying my money in this one-sided looking opener.