Tunisia v Saudi Betting Analysis

Group H underdogs Tunisia and Saudi Arabia get their respective World Cup campaigns underway when clashing swords in Munich on June 14 and, with both nations qualifying for the finals in good style, this match looks poised to be a corker. Tunisia topped Group 5 of the African Zone, scoring twenty five goals and conceding just nine in the process, while the Sons of the Desert also led the way in their qualifying phase, amassing a goal-haul of twenty four and, remarkably, conceded just twice. The two sides have met seven times in history, with the Tunisians holding sway with four wins, one match ending all square, and Saudi Arabia prevailing on two occasions. Naturalised Tunisian striker Santos, who has scored an impressive eighteen times in twenty eight matches for the North Africans, is set to miss the bout after sustaining a shin injury. He will ready for their second game against Spain, but his presence will be sorely missed in this must-win fixture. However, the Eagles are far from being a one-man show and, as they demonstrated when winning the CAF African Cup of Nations on home soil in February 2004, they are very much a nation on the up in footballing terms. In Santos's absence, rising star Haykel Guemamdia will be one of those that Tunisians look to for the end product. Ziad Jaziri, a scorer of thirteen goals in sixty one appearances, Adel Chedli and captain Hatem Trabelsi are all proven top-class players and, with such strength in their ranks, Roger Lemerre's men should outpoint the Saudis in this encounter. Marcos Cesar Dias Castro's charges are spearheaded by their attacking duo, 34-year-old Al Jaber and Yasser Al Qahtani, a decade younger but already his country's most expensive player following his $10million transfer to Al Hilal. These marksmen will make their mark in this match and give the Tunisian defence plenty to think about. But the fact that they lack an especially creative force in the middle of the park could mean that ammunition will be thin on the ground. Tunisia, on the other hand, boast a stronger array of players in the middle of the park with Chedli, Kaies Ghodhbane and veteran Riadh Bouazizi all possessing plenty of attacking flair. At 10/1 with BetInternet, backing Adel Chedli, who has hit the target four times in thirty eight matches for his country, to score anytime represents excellent value. You couldn't say that the twenty-nine-year-old is a particularly prolific scorer, but against a Saudi team whose defence are modest at best, the Nuremburg man might be able to sneak behind enemy lines and strike for Tunisia. Chedli is no stranger to scoring important goals having scored the vital equaliser against Morocco in the deciding qualification match for this tournament last October. The fact that he is as short as 10/3 in Betfred's anytime goalscorer market emphasises how generous Bet Internet's offer is.