World Cup Opta Stats: Chile to suffer the wrath of Spain

Spain and Iker Casillas surely won't perform as poorly again

The Opta stats flag up intriguing bets in the 1.65-1.69 price range for Wednesday's three World Cup group ties...

Australia v Netherlands
Wednesday, 17:00
Live on ITV

Match Odds: Australia 16.5n/a, Netherlands 1.232/9, The Draw 7.613/2

Robin van Persie has scored 10 goals in his last nine appearances for Netherlands

Those Man United fans initially uncertain as to how to greet Louis van Gaal's appointment must be salivating at present after he oversaw the Netherlands' 5-1 destruction of Spain, providing the most compelling evidence yet of his positive influence on Robin van Persie.

The two-time Premier League top scorer's brace against the world champions followed 11 qualifying strikes, a tally that made him top European marksman, and he should find several holes in Australia's backline. The Socceroos have leaked 28 times in their last ten games, including three times in their opener with Chile.

Recommended Bet: Back van Persie to score @ 1.695/7

Spain v Chile
Wednesday, 20:00
Live on BBC One

Match Odds: Spain 1.654/6, Chile 5.69/2, The Draw 4.57/2

Spain haven't lost back-to-back internationals since October 2006 (2-3 v Northern Ireland, 0-2 v Sweden)

The holders were horrific in the second half of their 1-5 defeat to Netherlands, but the Opta trends do a great job of emphasising the fact that result was an aberration rather than the latest addition to a heap of evidence that they are finished. Most notable was that they conceded more goals in 90 minutes than in their previous nine fixtures combined.

Vicente del Bosque's squad know better than anyone that they can recover from this low having become the first ever team to win the World Cup after losing their first match four years ago, and the stats support them. They have won eight and drawn two of ten prior meetings with Chile, one of which was a 2-1 triumph during their group-stage comeback in 2010.

Best Bet: Back Spain to win @ 1.654/6

Cameroon v Croatia
Wednesday, 23:00
Live on ITV

Match Odds: Cameroon 6.411/2, Croatia 1.674/6, The Draw 3.953/1

Cameroon have lost their last five World Cup matches; the longest losing streak of any African nation at the tournament

Cameroon were abject in their Group A opener against Mexico, creating very little and being opened up at will by a Mexico side who struggled in both qualifying and their warm-up friendlies. Though the final score was just 0-1, it would have been far worse were it not for two wrongly disallowed goals.

Opta offer little to encourage belief that the Indomitable Lions can salvage the situation against Croatia and Brazil, noting that they have been beaten in nine of their past 14 World Cup encounters and seven of their 13 against European foes, chalking up only one win in each of those spells.

Recommended Bet: Back Croatia to win @ 1.674/6