Wales vs Turkey Prediction: Guler to grab headlines on Bellamy bow?

New Wales head coach Craig Bellamy begins his reign at the Cardiff City Stadium on Friday (19:45, BBC iPlayer) as the Dragons welcome Turkey in the Uefa Nations League.

Read on for my Wales vs Turkey prediction and all the latest team news ahead of this Group 4, League B game.

Team News

Rob Paige paid the ultimate price for a goalless draw with Gibraltar and 4-0 hammering at the hands of Slovakia in June, being sacked as Wales boss following a three-and-a-half-year spell in charge.

Former Wales striker Bellamy has replaced his old international teammate at the helm in his first senior managerial role. The 45-year-old’s first squad includes regulars such as Danny Ward, Ben Davies, Ethan Ampadu, Aaron Ramsey and Kieffer Moore, but 53-cap winger Daniel James is injured and has been left out.

Ollie Cooper and Mark Cooper have been recalled to the squad for the first time in more than a year, and there is also a recall for Sorba Thomas, while uncapped duo Owen Beck and Karl Darlow are in their first senior international camp.

Football Odds

Turkey were one of the shining lights of the recent Euros, reaching the quarter-finals before being knocked out by the Netherlands. Arda Guler, Hakan Calhanoglu and Ferdi Kadioglu were three of their biggest stars and Guler and Calhanoglu have both been named by Vincenzo Montella in his latest squad.

However, there’s no space for Kadioglu, who tweaked his hamstring in training for his new club Brighton & Hove Albion.

Fenerbahce’s Cenk Tosun and free agent Yusuf Yazici have both been left out by Montella despite their involvement at Euro 2024.

Wales vs Turkey Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main Wales vs Turkey page on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this match.

Wales are 6/4 to get Bellamy off to the perfect start, giving them an implied win probability of 40%, while Turkey are 7/4, or a 36.4% chance, to triumph in Cardiff.

The draw is available at 2/1, both teams to score at 5/6, and over 2.5 total goals at 6/5.

Moore is favourite to score anytime at 23/10 and is 6/1 to grab the first goal of the game.

Both Teams to Score – Yes @ 5/6

Turkey were the great entertainers in Germany during the summer, with four of their five matches at Euro 2024 seeing both teams score, all of them finishing with over 2.5 goals. The Crescent-Stars beat Georgia 3-1 and the Czech Republic 2-1 either side of a 3-0 defeat to Portugal in the group stage, and then beat Austria 2-1 in one of the games of the tournament in the last 16. The Netherlands stopped Turkey’s march in the quarter-finals, but Montella’s men had already made their mark.

Starting with a 3-2 victory over Germany in Berlin on November 18, both teams have scored in eight of their last 11 internationals, a run that includes a 1-1 draw with Wales three days after that win at the Olympiastadion.

Wales have played just four times since that stalemate in Cardiff, kicking off with a 4-1 thrashing of Finland in a Euro 2024 play-off semi-final. However, they failed to score in their next three games, losing to Poland on penalties after a goalless draw in the play-off final before their June friendlies against Gibraltar and Slovakia.

Under Bellamy, though, the Dragons will be hopeful of wiping the slate clean, and his appointment should help to create an energy inside the Cardiff City Stadium where he used to play his club football.

Turkey aren’t known for keeping clean sheets and that should fuel belief for the hosts on Friday, with the likes of Brennan Johnson and Harry Wilson more than capable of causing problems for the Crescent-Stars’ defence. I have my doubts over whether Wales can keep out the visitors, though, which is why 5/6 for both teams to score piques my interest ahead of their UNL contest in the capital.

Anytime Scorer – Arda Guler @ 3/1

After joining Real Madrid from Fenerbahce in the summer of 2023, Guler endured an injury-hit campaign in the Spanish capital, making just 10 La Liga appearances. He did, however, score six times in the league, highlighting his immense ability ahead of the European Championships.

The 19-year-old wasted little time in announcing himself on the international stage in Germany, firing a rocket past Georgia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili in Turkey’s opening game of the tournament. He was unable to add to his tally but established himself as a key player in Montella’s starting XI, and should be in line to begin Friday’s game after playing the first 69 minutes of Real Madrid’s 3-0 victory over Real Valladolid two weeks ago.

Guler will be desperate to get off the mark for the season and make some positive noises ahead of his return to the Bernabeu, where competition for places is stiffer than ever. The teenager can strike the ball from distance and that marks him out as a terrific option in the anytime scorer market, particularly at odds of 3/1.

Offers

We will be Top Price or joint Top Price on Wales to beat Turkey with selected bookmakers using oddschecker.com for the comparison. (Available from 09:30 Friday)

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