25 years after the last time they battled it out in a major tournament, England and Scotland go head to head to round off a tasty looking day at Euro 2020 when the two sides meet in a crunch game in Group D at Wembley Stadium on Friday evening.
England are in the position of knowing that a win here will take them into the knockout phase while the Scots really need to pick something up from the game if they are to maintain having their qualifying fate in their own hands.
Where to watch
It is ITV1 which have the big game in the UK. The build-up is a lengthy one for this one beginning at 7pm while the match itself kicks off at 8pm.
England
It wasn’t the most flamboyant and flourishing start that England could have had in their opening match but they did the main thing – win the game. You would expect there to be a good deal more to come from England as they work their way through the tournament, picking up confidence as they go along. There is so much attacking talent at their disposal that by the time the business end of the competition comes along they should be one of the dangers for the title.
We all know the England weakness, that is defensively but we never really found out just how weak it is in the opening game against Croatia because they were absolutely terrible and offered nothing of any note. Scotland can’t possibly offer any less here so maybe we’ll find out about that England defence but it is at the other end of the pitch where England can do some damage and book their place in the round of 16.
Scotland
There is no doubt Scotland were disappointing in their first game against the Czech Republic. All the talk from their camp after the match was that there wasn’t much between the two sides but I never really thought that the Czechs were under sustained pressure at any stage and at the same time I thought they had them at arm’s length for most of it. Whether the occasion got to Scotland only they will know but a number of their influential players didn’t really impact the game.
You would think the rivalry and the intensity of this match will ensure that those players arrive at the party here but the occasion of this game is going to be greatly more elevated than the previous one so if it was that which brought out the poor performance that will be a concern. Scotland need to offer a little more composure around the penalty box but it will be interesting to see if they are prepared to push men forward here because England are deadly going the other way.
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Team News
Gareth Southgate has confirmed that Harry Maguire will be involved in this match although it appears that his involvement will be from the bench in what could be an unchanged England side, which means Jack Grealish will have to wait a bit longer for his chance.
Scotland are hoping and praying that Arsenal defender Kieran Tierney is fit for them after he missed the opening match due to injury. He’ll come in for Leeds defender Liam Cooper if he is fit. Che Adams must be in line for a start as well.
Betting
There has been an absolute deluge of rain in the lead up to this match and it isn’t going to be the warmest evening so both teams should be able to give this one a real go on a slick pitch which should make for attacking football so I’m expecting to see goals in this game. England have the firepower to cover any 2.5 goal line in any match they play but you’ve got to think Scotland will offer something more in this match and certainly more than what Croatia offered against England. Whether the goals come at the one end or at both ends I think there is enough attacking talent on the pitch for the net to bulge at least three times.
I’ll also take a couple of player bets for this match as well. The first of those is for Mason Mount to get an assist. England only won one corner in the first game against Croatia but it was the Chelsea man who took it and that could be significant because Scotland went man to man marking in their first game. That is a risk against an England side who have been one of the best attacking set pieces in world football for the last 3-4 years. The likes of Tyrone Mings, John Stones and even someone like Harry Kane can all attack a set-piece which gives Mount every chance of assisting a goal, while not forgetting that he could easily pick out a teammate from open play as well.
John McGinn was a little reserved in the first match but going up against at least one teammate here in Tyrone Mings and potentially a second if Jack Grealish gets onto the pitch so I would expect him to be a bit more fired up for this one. He probably would have been anyway given the rivalry between these two nations. He is a bit of a loose cannon when it comes to tackling and in greasy conditions it won’t take much to mistime a challenge so the 21/10 that he gets booked appeals to me.
Tips
Back Over 2.5 goals for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Betfair
Back M.Mount anytime assist for a 1/10 stake at 4.20 with Betfair
Back them here:
Back J.McGinn to be shown a card for a 1/10 stake at 3.10 with William Hill
Back him here:
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