Football Accumulator Tips: Jesse to Marsch Canadians to victory in Kansas

Fear not, for club football is on the horizon and back in under seven days. Until then, though, we must contend with the international action on offer, and there's plenty of it on Saturday.

My football accumulator tips for Saturday, September 7 feature four selections - two from Europe, one from Africa, and one from North America - and combine for a 14.44/1 four-fold, which you can check out below.

Football Odds

Nigeria (H) to beat Benin (17:00) @ 3/10

The shortest-priced selection in this four-fold, I'm backing Nigeria to bounce back from their 2026 World Cup qualifier defeat to Benin (2-1) in June by beating the same opposition in a 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo on Saturday.

Club Brugge's Raphael Onyedika opened the scoring for the Super Eagles in Abidjan, Ivory Coast less than three months ago but Jodel Dossou and Steve Mounie hit back before half-time for Benin, who held on for all three points at the Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny.

Nigeria are now winless in their last three games, two of which they have lost, and this year's beaten AFCON finalists are now under severe pressure to turn the tide.

The Super Eagles are unbeaten at home since a 0-1 defeat to Guinea-Bissau in March 2023, so there should be confidence that they can at least avoid defeat against a Benin side that hasn't won a competitive game on their travels since beating Tanzania 0-1 in Dar es Salaam in October 2021.

Reigning African Player of the Year Victor Osimhen has returned to the fold after missing the June internationals through injury, and his presence will be a huge boost to their attack, while the AFCON 2023 Player of the Tournament, William Troost-Ekong, is also available for selection again to bolster the hosts' defence.

It's unlikely to be pretty, but I think Nigeria can get the job done on Saturday.

Greece (H) to beat Finland (19:45) @ 4/7

Gus Poyet's reign as Greece's head coach came to an end earlier this year after To Piratiko lost 1-0 to Georgia in their Euro 2024 play-off final. The Uruguayan has since been replaced by ex-Fulham and Watford manager Slavisa Jokanovic, who will be taking charge of his first game against Finland in the Uefa Nations League Group B2 on Saturday.

Greece's visitors to the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus, Finland, have a much longer-serving head coach in Markku Kanerva, who has been at the helm since 2016. He took them to third place in their Euro 2024 qualification group, four points behind winners Denmark and runners-up Slovenia, but defeats away to both nations were what cost them the chance of reaching the tournament in Germany.

Kanerva will hope that Finland can build on the progress they have made, but since September 2022, they've only managed to win three times on their travels, beating Nothern Ireland (0-1), Kazakhstan (0-1) and San Marino (1-2).

Greece, meanwhile, have been strong opponents at home in recent years, losing just once since November 2021 - 0-1 to the Netherlands last October, when Virgil van Dijk scored the winner in the third minute of second-half stoppage time.

Jokanovic will be hoping to maintain the national team's fearsome reputation at home, and I think he can get his reign off to the perfect start with a victory in Piraeus on Saturday.

Football Accumulator Coupons

Ukraine (H) to beat Albania (19:45) @ 4/5

There were high hopes for Ukraine heading into Euro 2024 after they were drawn in one of the 'easier' groups alongside Belgium, Slovakia and Romania. Second place was the minimum objective, while some were even suggesting they could top the table.

However, Synio-Zhovti were destroyed 0-3 by Romania in their first Group E game, putting them on the back foot immediately. They responded by beating Slovakia 2-1 and holding Belgium to a goalless draw, but in a strange quirk, all four teams in the group finished on four points, and Ukraine came bottom as a result of an inferior goal difference.

Head coach Serhiy Rebrov will be desperate to see his side return to form this month, beginning with a Uefa Nations League Group B1 match against Albania at the epet ARENA in Prague (Czech Republic) on Saturday.

Albania were also present at the Euros during the summer but were thrown into the 'Group of Death' alongside Spain, Italy, and Croatia. They held their own for the most part, narrowly losing 1-2 to Italy and 0-1 to Spain either side of a 2-2 draw with Croatia, but ultimately finished bottom of the group on a solitary point.

Kuqezinjte will take confidence from their performances in Germany, but up against a hurt Ukrainian outfit on Saturday, they may struggle to achieve a positive result.

Canada (A) to beat USA (21:00) @ 16/5

The fourth and final leg of this accumulator comes from Children's Mercy Park in Kansas City, where the USA host Canada in an international friendly.

The USA are expected to appoint Mauricio Pochettino as their new head coach following the firing of Gregg Berhalter, who oversaw a disastrous 2024 Copa America campaign, in July.

However, the Argentine is yet to be formally unveiled and will not be in the dugout for Saturday's match against old foes Canada, whose American manager Jesse Marsch was, in years gone by, a candidate for the USMNT job.

Marsch will be desperate to get one over the USA federation and his short time in charge of Les Rouges so far suggests he has a great chance of doing so.

The ex-Leeds United boss suffered a 0-4 friendly defeat to the Netherlands on his Canada bow on June 6 but inspired his side to a goalless draw against France three days later.

Canada subsequently opened up the 2024 Copa America with a 0-2 defeat to Argentina, but it took La Albiceleste 49 minutes to score their first goal. Marsch's side then beat Peru 1-0 and drew 0-0 with Chile to finish as runners-up in Group A and book their berth in the quarter-finals.

Les Rouges' first knockout game saw them draw 1-1 with Venezuela, who they beat on penalties before another 0-2 defeat to Argentina booked a third-place play-off with Uruguay, against whom they drew 2-2.

It was Canada's time to lose out on penalties in Charlotte but the seeds were sown for Marsch and his charges, who will believe they are more than a match for the Stars and Stripes on Saturday.

Canada last won against the USA on American soil in a World Cup qualifier in 1957 but this weekend they have as good a chance as any to break that barren run.

Offers

Acca Flex: Place a pre-match 5+ leg Football accumulator and get a CASH bonus up to 100% if all of your selections win or your money back as CASH if one leg lets you down.