Friday Football Tips: Olise to fire for France in Bordeaux | OneFootball

Bet of the Day

Thierry Henry carrying the Olympic torch ahead of the games

Paul Higham is looking at the big Olympic game for Friday's best bet and believes Michael Olise could end up being the star of the show as France host Argentina.

France v ArgentinaFriday 2 AugustKick-off 20:00 BST

There's a hint of the France 98 World Cup going about in the men's Olympic football competition as the hosts look to earn another memorable triumph in front of their home fans.

Thierry Henry is again involved but this time from the sideline as the French boss for this clash with Argentina that will have plenty of feeling to it given what happened at the last World Cup in Qatar.

Javier Macherano is in the Argentina dugout but while they've had to scrap through after a shock opening loss to Morocco, the French have glided serenly into the quarter-finals with three wins and just one goal conceded.

This is a step up, but the feeling is they'll handle it...

Leg 1: France to win

We've seen this movie before with the French - they were swept along by the emotion of playing at home to lift the World Cup in 98, and even got to the Euros final in 2016, even though they came up just short that time.

Henry knows the score though, and was able to make changes in their final group game, a luxury not afford to Mascherano after their shocking start to the tournament.

So with the Bordeaux fans behind them, some extra energy in the legs and the Va Va Voom from their illustrious coach - back the French to see this one thorugh as 21/20 match favourites.

Leg 2: Michael Olise to score

While 33-year-old Alexandre Lacazette captains the side and is their primary goal threat for Henry, new Bayern Munich signing Michael Olise could well be the face of this tournament if he continues his form.

The former Palace man had a goal and assist in the first game and an assist in the second before being given a rest by Henry in the third and just getting a half-our runout off the bench.

That in itself shows how highly thinks of the 22-year-old, who also scored three times in the last two friendlies before this tournament.

He's 3/1 to score anytime and I'm happy to take that given his recent run, and just the sense that he's a special player about to make a special mark on this competition - and a goal here would be a great start.

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Recommended bets

Back France to win & Michael Olise to score @ 9/2

COLUMN 24/25 P/L

Staked: 14pts Returned: 14.4pts P/L: +0.4pts 2023/24 P/L: +16.78pts 2022/23 P/L: +68.69pts