France v Iceland Preview & Tips (27th May)

France and Iceland play a friendly on May 27, Sunday. Kick off is at 20:00 GMT.

Teams News

France

Laurent Blanc will have an opportunity to test and retest his line-up before the Euro starts on the second week of June. This is on the back of a couple of injury blows to the Frenchmen, with striker Loic Remy and defender Younes Kaboul on the verge of missing the tournament this summer. Kaboul while crossed out by Blanc from his roster while Remy has the chance of featuring in the tournament provided that he makes a quick recovery from a thigh injury.

Remy’s absence is almost a go-ahead signal for Karim Benzema to start – well anyway, Benzema looks likely to start even if Remy was fit in the first place. And then there’s Samir Nasri and Franck Ribery playing behind Benzema in a possible three-man attacking midfield. Both midfielders haven’t been gloriously performing of late – of the two its Ribery who will feel more unfortunate since Nasri won the EPL with Man City while Ribery succumbed to a CL finals loss against Chelsea. This friendly is one of their best chances to solidify a place in the starting XI.

Iceland

Iceland could only produce four points in their entire qualifying campaign for this year’s European Championship. They were lacklustre in qualifying Group H, scraping a solitary win while the likes of Denmark, Portugal, and Norway dominated the group. There’s definitely still so much to do for the Icelanders if they are to make a Euro debut anytime soon.

Hope prevails in the Iceland camp nevertheless, with young players emerging out of their shells and into the limelight. A good example is Gylfi Sigurdsson of Swansea. The 22-year old midfielder played a season beyond expectations for Swansea, attracting big clubs along the way. Should Siggy continue his good league performance, then he is well on the way to become one of Iceland’s greats.

France v Iceland Betting Preview

A much talked-about France squad in the last two years know better than claim publicity the wrong way. With a much more stable backroom and better performances on the pitch, France has slowly built a good reputation once more. This is perhaps the best way to prepare for a major tournament, and expect them to continue their good run of form at the expense of Iceland.

Betting Tip

Verdict: France to win 2-1.

Tip:

France is at 1/7 to win, at 10/1 to win with a final scoreline of 2-1. It’s never uncertain when the total amount of goals is discussed – France has been consistently inconsistent in scoring big and small every once in a while. The best guess here is for the game to go over 2.5 goals at19/40 since Les Bleus may eventually concede a goal. Other than these, there’s not much to really think about.

All odds are from Bet365.com (£200 FREE BET!).