ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - there's no time to rest for the associate nations as they continue with back to back fixtures across this weekend. On Saturday, a strong looking Ireland side prepare to face the Canadians who haven't really progressed since their 50 over World Cup appearance in 2003, but the outsiders will be hopeful of an upset.

On the eve of the game, the bookmakers are keeping faith with the Irish who are early favourites to take the win at best odds of 1.20 with Stan James However, if you prefer staking on a Canadian victory then the best price on this outcome is 4.50 with Paddy Power.

Will Porterfield's Ireland strengthened their chances of an appearance in the finals with a comfortable victory over Namibia in the opening game. Paul Stirling led the way with a brisk half century as his side posted a defendable 166-5 from their twenty overs and there were useful contributions from Kevin O'Brien, Niall O'Brien and from Porterfield himself.

The top five batters all reached double figures but the Namibians started strongly at around nine per over before the bowlers got in amongst the middle order. As the rate increased, Namibia fell away badly as Alex Cusack returned the best figures of 2-22.

That victory will inspire confidence in an Irish side who are arguably the best of the Associate Countries. In recent years they've recorded shock results against the likes of England and Pakistan so Canada shouldn't pose too many problems when the squads meet in Abu Dhabi.

As for the Canadians they lost a tight 'local derby' against the US and this is now something of a 'must win'. The game was the most exciting of the qualifiers so far with the United States claiming victory with just one ball to spare.

There were positives for Canada in that match as the bowlers restricted their opponents to 61-5 but a winning partnership from Tim Allen and Srini Santhanam saw the US chase down a total of 137. However, the batting in that tie was a disappointment and the Canadians will surely have to set or chase something in excess of 150 if they are to upset those odds and get their qualifying campaign off and running.

This is another game where the bookies have been slow to declare their prices and with no side betting currently available, your only option is to look at the result. In the shortest form of the game anything can still happen but shock outcomes are getting much rarer, even among the so called weaker nations.

Ireland's team contains players who find themselves in demand on the T20 circuit. The likes of Kevin O'Brien and Paul Stirling haven't caught the attention of the IPL franchises just yet but they are powerful hitters capable of setting or chasing any target.

Canada have a competitive side who have a chance of securing a shock result but batting was poor in their opening game and it's hard to see where the improvement can come from. Overall, it may sound like an obvious decision to go with the favourites but can you really back against Ireland?

Matt Harris' bet on this match:

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