France will be looking to move a step closer to qualifying for Euro 2012 if they beat Albania on Friday evening.
France rarely do things the easy way but under the management of Laurent Blanc they seem to be rejuvenated from the side that produced such a shambolic World Cup 2010 and are coasting towards Euro 2012 qualification.
A win for Les Bleus in Albania on Friday would put them within touching distance of next summer's championships in Poland and Ukraine and, unusually, they look a fairly safe bet to take all three points.
The bookmakers have, however, acknowledged this fact and France are a prohibitively priced 4/11, with
bet365, to win in Tirana.
The reason for this is the attacking talent at Blanc's disposal. Samir Nasri, Florent Malouda, Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema are a quartet that would walk into most teams in the world and between them they should be able to find a way through what will be a rough and ready Albania team on Friday evening.
The hosts, who are 8/1 to spring a shock, seem to be in a bit of a slump of late, having threatened to be a major player in Group D last year.
They are, however, still a tough team to play against in front of their own fans and Lorik Cana, who will be well known to the French midfielders from his time at Marseille, lead by example in the centre of the pitch, with his ferocious tackling able to unsettle those who like to spend time on the ball.
Unfortunately, however, Albania lack cutting edge and it is difficult to see which of their players will trouble Hugo Lloris in the French goal.
Veteran striker Erjon Bogdani is now 34 and far too static, while the second top scorer in the hosts squad is Edmond Kapplani, who has netted just six goals for his country.
It will, therefore, be likely that France will keep a clean sheet in Tirana and the odds of 10/11 that the visitors win to nil are more than acceptable, with the most likely scores or 1-0 and 2-0 also tempting at 4/1 and 9/2 respectively.
Recommendation
Win to Nil - France (10/11,
bet365)
