ENGLAND v WALES
Thursday 16th June 2016 – Kickoff: 1500hrs
Football – Europe – Euro 2016 Betting Tips
Ahead of a highly anticipated ‘Battle of Britain’, England find themselves having to play catch-up on their opponents Wales on Thursday afternoon following their disappointing 1-1 draw with Russia a few days ago.
England went ahead in a tightly fought but ultimately dull contest against the Russians courtesy of an excellent free-kick from Eric Dier and they must have though that they’d finally broken their major tournament hoodoo of failing to win their opening game of a tournament, only for Russia to equalise in stoppage time.
It was a frustrating display by England as they continually gave away possession cheaply, and they still lack the tactical nous of the Italians who, once ahead, are extremely difficult to break down and beat. Raheem Sterling had a poor game and it’ll be interesting to see if Hodgson opts for Vardy on the left instead, but he should bite the bullet and go with a 4-4-2 formation.
Wales were triumphant in their opening Group B game as they overcame a spirited Slovakia side 2-1, but it’ll be interesting to see how much that first game took out of the Dragons when they take on England on Thursday afternoon.
Bale scored from a free-kick, and Wales’ best chances of scoring against the Three Lions seems to be from similar situations on the edge of the box as England ultimately possess the better skilled and technical players in the middle of the park.
If Wales avoid defeat they’ll take a massive step towards the knock-out stages, so the onus is on England to create the attacking chances – are they capable of doing so under a defence-minded Hodgson though?
This is essentially Premier League versus a mixture of Premier League/Championship and lower leagues, so England should come out on top – just.
Pick: England to win @ 1.60 Ladbrokes
