Republic of Ireland v Wales Betting Special: Back Bale to roar for Dragons

There is no question which Wales player the Republic of Ireland will be most concerned about when the sides come face-to-face in Dublin for Friday’s crucial World Cup qualification match.

Having scored seven of his country’s 11 goals en route to Euro 2016, Gareth Bale is responsible for four of the eight that the Dragons have struck so far this qualification campaign, and is Betfair Sportsbook’s 4/1 (5.00) favourite to open the scoring at the Aviva Stadium.

With 18 goals to his name in his last 26 competitive international starts, the Real Madrid man certainly looks like a strong bet at 7/5 (2.40) to find the net once again.

Bale’s prolific form has certainly taken the burden off the Welsh strikers, with Sam Vokes priced at 16/5 (4.20) to add to his more modest tally of eight international goals and Hal Robson-Kanu available at 7/2 (4.50) to enhance his own total of just four.

In fact, the second top-scorer in Chris Coleman’s squad is midfielder Aaron Ramsey, who can be backed at 4/1 (5.00) to enhance his 11-goal international haul.

At the other end of the pitch, Shane Long is expected to lead the line for a team currently sitting top of Group D after four games, and is on offer at 9/2 (5.50) to break the deadlock or 19/10 (2.90) to strike anytime for the 18th time in his international career.

On the scoresheet in just one of his last 11 appearances for the Boys in Green, Jonathan Walters is available at 21/10 (3.10) to find his range once more in front of goal, while Kevin Doyle does not hold too much appeal at 23/10 (3.30) considering he has not scored in a competitive international since September 2012.

By contrast, James McClean could prove a solid investment at 3/1 (4.00) after hitting the back of the net three times in the last two games for Martin O’Neill’s men.