Strong favourites to make for multiple mayhem

Sunday’s three 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil matches have the potential to be a nightmare combination for bookmakers as one finds it hard to bet against the three favourites.

The fortunes of daily multiples during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil will determine whether bookmakers turn a profit or a loss on the biggest sports betting ever. One can see millions of accumulators featuring three teams and three teams only – Switzerland, France and Argentina – being placed and bookmakers hoping for one or more shocks.

Switzerland and Ecuador kick off 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Group E in Brasilia and, just as there is little doubt that FIFA has overrated the Swiss in making them one of the eight seeds, there is little doubt that they are overpriced to get off to a winning start against a side that probably would not have qualified without its massive home advantage.

Twenty-two of the 25 points that Ecuador amassed from its 16 games in the CONMEBOL section of 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil qualifying competition were secured on home soil at high altitude. On the road, Ecuador lost to each of the three teams that finished above it on the ladder. Ecuador has won only one of its last seven matches and that game could – and should – have ended differently. Ecuador trailed Australia 3-0 after 56 minutes in London before Socceroos goalkeeper Mitch Langerak received his marching orders and the side from Down Under fell apart, conceding four late goals.

Switzerland qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil without losing a game, its recent results include a 1-0 home defeat of Brazil and, while the Swiss are likely to be one of the teams unsettled by the climatic conditions, their discomfort will be nothing compared to that of Ecuador.

Even allowing for Switzerland tackling Ecuador at a neutral venue, the Swiss are attractively priced at odds of 2.60 with BetVictor and Boylesports to pick up three points.

France has lost Franck Ribery for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil due to injury but anything less than a place in the knockout stage will be a huge disappointment given the kind draw that Les Bleus have ahead of them, starting with what appears to be a gimme versus Honduras in Porto Alegre.

Like Ecuador, Honduras has been in poor form leading up to the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, winning just one of its last seven matches and losing to, among others, Israel and Turkey in recent times. Probably the best guide that one can get into Honduras is that it lost 0-5 to Brazil in Miami in November and the Selecao did not have out their strongest side. Honduras has yet to win a game at a FIFA World Cup and, while it may have a chance of making history against Ecuador, it will struggle versus Switzerland and France.

France is trading at odds of 1.36 with several bookmakers, including Bet365, Betfred and Paddy Power, to beat Honduras and that looks banker material, as does Argentina at odds of 1.45 with Youwin to defeat Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Group F opener in Rio de Janeiro.

Argentina met Bosnia and Herzegovina in a friendly not long before the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil draw put them in the same group, with Alejandro Savella’s team winning 2-0 in St Louis. Sergio Aguero did the damage for Argentina and it is well worth noting that Lionel Messi was nowhere to be seen, whereas Bosnia and Herzegovina was close to full strength.

Punters who put Switzerland, France and Argentina in a 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil accumulator bet are likely to get odds of around 5.00 about each of the three favourites winning.

Tips Summary

Switzerland to beat Ecuador
15th June 17:00 GMT
Odds: 2.60
Where to Bet: BetVictor, Boylesports

France to beat Honduras
15th June 20:00 GMT
Odds: 1.36
Where to Bet: Bet365, Betfred,  Paddy Power

Argentina to beat Bosnia
15th June 23:00 GMT
Odds: 1.45
Where to Bet: Youwin

Accumulator on the 3 teams
Odds: 5.00