Wales v Latvia predictions: Dragons should justify favouritism

Where to watch Wales v Latvia

S4C & Viaplay Sports 2, 7.45pm

Best bet

Wales to win & under 3.5 goals
1pt 20-23 BoyleSports

Wales v Latvia odds

Wales 2-9
Latvia 16-1
Draw 5-1

Odds correct at time of publishing

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Wales v Latvia team news

Wales
Rob Page is understood to have no fresh injury concerns with Wayne Hennessey, Brennan Johnson and Ben Davies having previously withdrawn from the squad.

Latvia
Spezia forward Raimonds Krollis could be in line to start after coming off the bench in last week's friendly loss to Ireland.

Wales v Latvia predictions

Wales were underwhelming at last year's Qatar World Cup, collecting a solitary point from their three group games, but they made a strong start to qualifying for Euro 2024 with a resolute 1-1 draw against Croatia last time out.

Rob Page's men saw little of the ball against Croatia in Split on Saturday and lost the shot count 19 to four, but a 93rd-minute strike from Nathan Broadhead salvaged a crucial point for the Dragons in a testing qualifying section which also features Turkey and Armenia.

But that draw will feel much less valuable if Wales are unable to follow it up with a home victory against minnows Latvia at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Page's side are adjusting to life after superstar forward Gareth Bale's retirement and the captain's armband has since been passed to midfielder Aaron Ramsey.

It remains to be seen how far Page can take this team but this is the kind of match they should always be winning and they can justify quotes of 2-9 in the Welsh capital.

Latvia languish in 133rd spot in Fifa's national team rankings - below Thailand, the Faroe Islands and Malawi - and they have failed to win any of their last five matches in 90 minutes.

They did manage to win the Baltic Cup as part of that run, although they played only two games in that tournament and won both on penalties and the streak featured matches against Andorra, Moldova, Estonia and Iceland.

This should be a straightforward win for Wales but as they learn to cope without Bale in the side and given that key forward Brennan Johnson is sidelined, punters should not expect them to blow Latvia away and backing a home win and under 3.5 goals could be the best betting approach.

Key stat

Each of Wales's last six competitive games has featured under 3.5 goals.

Probable teams

Wales (4-2-3-1): Ward; Roberts, Mepham, Rodon, Williams; Ampadu, Morrell; Wilson, Ramsey, D James; Moore.
Subs: Fox, Cabango, Lockyer, Cooper, L Harris, J James, Burns, Thomas, Bradshaw, Broadhead.

Latvia (4-4-2): Steinbors; Savalnieks, Balodis, Cernomordijs, Sorokins; J Ikaunieks, Zjuzins, Tobers, Ciganiks; Krollis, Gutkovskis.
Subs: Dubra, Jurkovskis, Oss, Stuglis, Emsis, Jaunzems, Saveljevs, Varslavans, Daskevics, D Ikaunieks, Uldrikis.

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