After what has been a condensed fixture list for England since the start of the year, the Three Lions play their final two World Cup Qualifiers in the coming week.
Sitting top of Group I by three points, Gareth Southgate’s men will guarantee topping the standings if they take four points from a possible six on offer, with Poland waiting to pounce should England slip up. However, given the hosts have a trip to San Marino on Monday as one of those fixtures, top spot is surely academic.
The one team that can deny England though are third-placed Albania, who themselves trail the hosts by five points, and who England face at Wembley on Friday night. Though the Eagles, on paper, look like pushovers, the visitors have a play-off spot to fight for over the coming days themselves and arrive in north London looking to make an impact. Anything other than an England win looks far-fetched, with the draw best priced at 10/1 with VBet, but Albania will fancy their chances of finding the net, given England’s rather shaky showing at home to Hungary last time out.
Set to play against the country of his birth, Southampton’s Armando Broja has caught the eye on the south coast this term so far and has scored in three of the last four games for his adopted nation. Conceding in two of their last three outings, England will have to be watchful of the Slough striker, and to score anytime during 90 mins, Broja is a very healthy 10/1 with Bet365.
From an England point of view, the under goals market could be one to dip into. 2-0 winners in the reverse fixture in Tirana back in March, the Euro 2020 runners-up scored just once against Hungary and Poland respectively in recent games, and given Harry Kane’s problems in front of goal, England might be scratching around once more. For the game to see under 2.5 goals, most major bookies are carrying 11/10 odds, whilst for England to score just once, Betfair will offer you a price of 9/4.
On the flip side, England will be keen to put on a show for the home fans after what has been a superb 2021 for the Three Lions, and to hit over 2.5 goals is 6/5 with Bet365 and SpreadEx, or to go one better, are boosted to 11/4 with William Hill to net four times.
If we delve into Price Boosts available elsewhere meanwhile, for England to win and Both Teams to Score, BetFred’s 7/2 price looks very favourable, whilst for Harry Maguire to score a header is 10/1 with SkyBet.
