Top of the Props: King Asllani to rule over Wembley, Kazakh attack attack & Craig’s crusade to continue in Cardiff

Kristjan Asllani to have over 1.5 shots for Albania vs England – 43/20 – BetMGM

Greece’s 12 shots at Wembley Stadium back in October demonstrated that England are capable of giving up plenty of shots. And with a new man at the helm, there’s every chance that they are a little disjointed. 

We have a bigger breakdown with England vs Albania betting tips. But we can get a flavour of how well Thomas Tuchel sets his sides up defensively by looking into the shots he has conceded in his last three jobs in club football. 

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All three were for ball-dominant sides in Bayern Munich, PSG and Chelsea and when those sides gave up 10.29, 9.03 and 10.16 shots per game respectively, it suggests there’s something for Albania to get at.

Equally, despite being the underdogs here, their recent data suggests they’re capable of attacking stronger opposition, having averaged nearly ten shots per game across their last 15 competitive matches. 

That includes having managed 10, 15 and eight shots at Euro 2024 against Spain, Croatia and Italy and so they’re no mugs. 

Across those matches, Kristian Asllani has been the most potent attacking threat, averaging 2.13 shots per 90 and having at least two shots in all but one of his last nine starts. 

That includes having had four efforts against Spain and two against both Croatia and Italy, so he shouldn’t be phased by a trip to Wembley.

Over 2.5 Kazakhstan corners in Wales vs Kazakhstan – 21/20 – BetMGM

Craig Bellamy looks to continue his excellent start to life as Wales boss where he’s unbeaten in his first six matches in charge. With an ageing Belgian side their main competition for automatic qualification in this group, they’ll be keen to get off to a positive start by seeing off Kazakhstan in Cardiff. 

The Kazakhs are in anything but good form, losing their last five matches in a row with an aggregate score of 15-0. However, despite their lack of goalscoring threat, they’re winning plenty of corners with 30 in their last nine away trips -  seven of those matches seeing this bet land. 

That dataset also includes games in Austria, Norway and Greece all of which Kazakhstan managed at least three corners in. 

Under Bellamy, Wales have conceded 5.33 corners per game, allowing at least three in four of six games under his stewardship.

With the bookies having them as massive favourites to win, they’re likely to score early which will force Kazakhstan to come forward, hopefully continuing their recent trend of plenty of corners. 

Over 24.5 shots in Wales vs Kazakhstan – 3/4 – BetMGM

In a match that forms one quarter of our weekly acca tips this weekend, Bellamy’s games as manager have also seen plenty of shots with an average of 25.67 per game. 

There’s been at least 25 shots in four of Wales’ last five matches with them having efforts at goal and conceding them in equal measure. 

Their more attacking approach under Bellamy has seen them left open at the back and this is something that Kazakhstan can look to exploit.

The Kazakhs last five competitive games have seen an average of 26.4 shots, with their opponents contributing 19.8 of those. 

They’re generally set up to soak up pressure, however, will see themselves as Wales’ closest competitor for second place with Liechtenstein and North Macedonia also in the group. 

That should see them looking for a shock result in Cardiff and if they go behind early, they’ll be forced to attack which will see more shots at both ends. 

Odds correct at the time of writing.