Dave Tindall previews Saturday night's matches in the Nations League with betting tips on matches including the clash between England and the Republic of Ireland.
A new era dawns for England as Lee Carsley takes charge for the first time following the exit of Gareth Southgate.
Southgate clearly did an excellent job in terms of results - younger listeners may want to check out England’s fairly woeful record in tournaments since 1966 - although the Three Lions were a tough watch in the summer’s Euros. And by tough I mean dreadful.
Hopefully Carsley - still a bald and limited midfielder for Everton in my mind - can provide a platform for England to show off their attacking talents in a more attractive light although he won’t be able to call on the services of Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham, Ollie Watkins or even Ivan Toney for this one.
Those withdrawals or absentees open the door for others though and we’ll hopefully get to see some of the players who shone for Carsley during his successful spell as England U21 boss.
Ireland have a new manager too - Heimir Hallgrimsson - and, sorry to bring this up, he was part of Iceland’s coaching team when they dumped England out of the Euros in 2016.
He’s since been in charge of Jamaica although it didn’t go well for the Reggae Boyz in the Copa America where they lost all three games and, pleasingly, that included a one-love defeat. To Mexico.
Hallgrimsson is a former dentist - true fact - and, to be honest, watching Ireland in recent times has been like pulling teeth.
So, England to win to nil at 13/10 seems a fairly obvious way in - it would have landed the last time they met when the Three Lions won 3-0 - and I also like Bukayo Saka to find the net. He’s 3/1 anytime with bet365.
England to win to nil and Saka to score anytime in a Bet Builder pays around 5/1.
If you want to play a Saturday acca, there look to be a few options to add in alongside England.
Germany host Hungary - a side they beat 2-0 in the recent Euros thanks to goals from Jamal Musiala and Ilkay Gundogan in Stuttgart. Expect a repeat at 2/9.
And the Netherlands, who reached the semis at the Euros before falling to Ollie Waktins’ late, late strike, look a straightforward option to score a home win over Bosnia.
I’ll also add in Both Teams to Score in Georgia vs the Czech Republic.
Georgia were a fun watch in the Euros, scoring in all four of their games but also conceding eight along the way.
And both teams to score has landed in each of the Czech’s last seven internationals.
So let’s just list those best bets again.
England to beat the Republic of Ireland to nil at 13/10
Bukayo Saka to score anytime at 3/1
England win to nil and Saka anytime in a Bet Builder at 5/1
England, Germany and the Netherlands to win and BTTS in Georgia vs the Czech Republic at 3/1
Good luck, enjoy but please gamble responsibly.
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