Find out how we've spending our twenty quid this summer

World Cup tips: Four bets to spend £20 on this summer from 5/1 to 100/1

Football

Mon June 11, 2018 · 7y ago

Richard Mann has been delving through the markets for the forthcoming 2018 World Cup in Russia and has some advice on how to invest your £20 this summer.

How to bet £20 at the World Cup

£5 Brazil to win the World Cup and Jesus to win the Golden Boot at 40/1

£5 Iran to reach the quarter-finals at 22/1

£5 Raheem Sterling to be England's top tournament goalscorer at 5/1

£5 Brazil to win the World Cup, Iran to qualify from Group B and Raheem Sterling to score 3+ goals at 100/1

Click on the above links to place your bets - the final selection will appear in your betslip when doing so, but can also be found under Sporting Life RequestABet on the Sky Bet website.

Brazil much the best

Brazil are my idea of the winners and to be frank, I don't think 9/2 is a bad price for a team that strolled through qualifying and boast one of the most well-balanced squads imaginable.

Any team with Neymar as the focal point warrants the utmost respect but unlike in the last World Cup, this current Brazil team is about so much more than Neymar.

At the back, the Samba boys look very solid with Alisson preferred to Manchester City's Ederson in goal and a defence consisting of Paris Saint-Germain centre-back Marquinhos and the experienced Miranda.

The full-backs are all action and energy while Tite - who has done a fabulous job since taking over as manager - has a luxury of world-class midfield options at his disposal.

Neymar, who is approaching full fitness again, and Gabriel Jesus will prove a daunting prospect for opposition defences and both are expected to make a big splash in the battle for the Golden Boot.

Neymar makes obvious appeal but at almost twice the price, Jesus might be a better bet at odds of 20/1 given he netted seven times in qualifying when playing as the central striker.

The Brazil/Jesus double pays 40/1 and that looks the play.

Don't underestimate Iranian underdogs

Under the shrewd guidance of Carlos Queiroz, Iran are now making their second successive World Cup appearance following a fine qualifying campaign which saw them keep 12 straight clean sheets.

Well organised and sure to be hard to break down, Iran boast a real attacking threat with Sardar Azmoun - who plays his club football in Russia for Rubin Kazan - expected put himself in the shop window along with the exciting Alireza Jahanbakhsh.

Jahanbakhsh has a look of Luis Figo about the way he runs at people on the right wing and comes into the tournament on the back of a fine season for AZ Alkmaar in the Dutch Eredivisie, where he finished as the league's top scorer with 21 goals and 12 assists.

Three of the current squad play their club football in Russia, experience that should prove invaluable in venues that can often be hostile.

With Portugal screaming to be taken on in Group B, Iran could easily get through to the last 16 and give themselves a shot at reaching the quarter-finals - they are 22/1 to get that far.

Alireza Jahanbakhsh is a fine young talent

Super Sterling set to shine

A unique talent but for so long one of the most frustrating performers in England, Raheem Sterling is now the finished article and can prove Gareth Southgate's star performer at this year's World Cup.

There were plenty of raised eyebrows when Manchester City paid a fortune for his services in 2015 but under the tutelage of Pep Guardiola, Sterling has taken his game to a new level and scored 23 in City's stellar campaign last season.

Understandably, Southgate has made Sterling an integral part of his plans and while Harry Kane is a short price to finish the tournament as England's top scorer, Sterling looks overpriced in the same market at 5/1.

In all honesty, this looks a two-horse race and with the strong suspicion that Sterling is on the cusp of a career-defining tournament, he is well worth a bet.

Raheem Sterling is set for a big few weeks

Win big with RequestABet

Finally, it's always nice to dream big and Sky Bet's RequestABet feature gives us the chance to do just that with Brazil, Iran and Sterling.

Sky Bet are offering a 100/1 for Brazil to lift the trophy, Iran to qualify from Group B and Sterling to score three or more goals in the tournament, and that certainly gives us hope of a big pay day with the final part of our World Cup portfolio.