The EFL kick-off is just a week away now but this Friday’s football programme also has some decent fixtures.
There are four Olympic men’s quarter-finals to get your teeth into as well as plenty of action across Europe.
We’ve picked one Olympic last-eight clash in our three best football bets for Friday, along with selections for games in Germany and Ireland.
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Bet of the day
Spain to beat Japan – 11/10
It may look as if Spain need to bounce back from a disappointing performance when they take on Japan in the quarter-finals of the men’s Olympic football tournament, but La Roja should be pretty happy about the way their campaign is going.
Spain had already secured qualification from the last eight when losing 2-1 to Egypt in their final group match, which enabled the African side to top the section with seven points.
Wins over Uzbekistan and the Dominican Republic in their first two games had left Spain in a comfortable position and they opted to make 10 changes to their team for the Egypt game.
Defeat has also conveniently landed Spain in arguably the easier half of the knockout draw, away from France and Argentina, who face each other in the final game of the day.
With a rested team set to take the field, Spain could be back to their best against Japan, who won all three of their games in Group D.
However, Japan’s 5-0 win over Paraguay was assisted by an early red card for their opponents and after that they needed late goals to beat the two winless teams in their group, Mali and Israel, both 1-0.
Spain will represent their toughest test of the tournament and Japan could struggle.
Special of the day
FC Koln and both teams to score – 14/5
The Bundesliga 2 campaign gets started on Friday night as relegated Koln face Hamburger SV in the only Friday night game.
Koln had few excuses for their demotion to the German second tier after winning only five of their 34 top-flight games last season and they were successful in only two of their last 14 league games.
They look to mean business in their bid to bounce back at the first opportunity, however, and an unbeaten pre-season campaign that has seen them score plenty of goals suggests they can beat Hamburg in a game that sees both teams scoring.
Hamburg were a solid fourth in this division last season but were better at home than on the road, winning only five of their 17 away league games.
Long shot of the day
Waterford to beat Shamrock Rovers – 16/5
Shamrock Rovers are having a tough time of it at the moment and could be vulnerable to a League of Ireland upset at Waterford as they play their fifth game in just over two weeks.
Rovers have just had a long trip to Prague, where they lost 4-2 to Sparta (and 6-2 on aggregate) in their Champions League qualifier and that defeat means they now have an important Europa League trip to Slovenia to play Kelje coming up on Thursday.
That tough schedule could tempt Rovers to rest players for their league trip to Waterford and they have now lost three successive games following an FAI Cup defeat to Bohemians.
Waterford won the teams’ last meeting and have won six of their last seven home games. They have injury problems to deal with, but look overpriced to add to Rovers’ woes.
Odds correct at time of publish and subject to change*
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News Summary:
- talkSPORT betting tips – Best football bets and expert advice for Friday 2 August
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