England

Well, the media will now be heralding England as world beaters after their 1-0 triumph over Spain at Wembley on Saturday. A goal by stand in captain Frank Lampard settled the international friendly, and now we move ahead to England v Sweden betting. England boss Fabio Capello was applauding the heart of his young Lions after they came away with a win, but we have to look at things realistically. Spain were the better side on the ball, and England have not suddenly turned into world beaters, all they have proven is that they can hang on and defend against a very good side. England won, but they got a lot of things wrong, things which will need addressing if England are going to make any kind of impact at Euro 2012.

Lone striker Darren Bent got a lot of position wrong and every time England pumped the ball forward in an attempt to bypass Spain’s midfield, there was never any support from him, because the midfield was sitting so deep. England have to be much better at that, because if they do that all the time, then they are not going to away with victories. While England stole away with a win, the stats paint a very different picture, and with calls from Frank Lampard for England to play like Spain, these stats show the gulf between the two sides. The important thing to remember is that there is no such thing as an invincible team. There are very very good ones which will slip up now and again, but there are no invincible ones. Basically, if England played the way they did against Spain against the same level of opposition, they will lose over 50% of them. England managed just three shots on goal, compared to 21 by Spain, and England couldn’t even rustle  up 30% of possession in the match. Spain were not even at their very best, not their fluent clinical selves, and England could not get the ball away from them, nor could England pass their way around the Spaniards. Still a good morale boosting victory for England, but not one to get carried away with.

England have good pace in their side and they looked to exploit that, but they aren’t going to beat top opposition based on speed alone. They need a quality holding midfielder and a much more composed centre half than Joleon Lescott and Phil Jagielka combined and they’ll probably be alright. They also need to sort out the right back position too. Of course there are positives to take away. Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck looked a real bright spark and did more coming on as sub than Darren Bent achieved. Scott Parker again impressed in the middle of the park (apart from one incident over overplaying) and England can at least still rely on Frank Lampard. So this is the kind of result England should build upon and not get carried away with. Up next for Capello’s men is Sweden on Wednesday night, which should present a totally different challenge from the Spaniards. Sweden, having already booked their place at the Euro 2012 finals as the best runner up from qualification, come into the match on the back of a 2-0 away defeat against Denmark in an international friendly. Sweden look a pretty decent side though, at least they did through qualification, where their group wasn’t the toughest. Sweden won eight of their ten games, losing twice (once against the Netherlands and once against Hungary). But the Swedes certainly showed their potency in front of goal, running up 31 goals in their ten matches, but you have to take into consideration the level of opposition like San Marino, Moldova and Finland. So the Swedes are a pretty tight side, and look pretty decent at the back. Losing against a solid Denmark side is no shame at the moment.

But England are likely to get much more of the ball then they did against Spain, and therefore, it will be a test of their creativity and what they can do with it. Sweden are generally pretty tight at the break, and are difficult to break down. So what will England’s youngsters be able to create in terms of chances. This is perhaps a trickier game for Capello than the Spain fixture, because this the one where England are expected to dominate and put on a good show, but Sweden are the type of opposition that can close up a game and make things very difficult. The expectations are on England this time, while everyone was expecting them to fail against Spain. We have seen England fall into mediocrity from this position before, but at least they showed that they can with without Wayne Rooney as his red card saga drags on.

So, time to look at the head to head for England v Spain. There have been twenty matches between the two sides, and Sweden are in ascendancy with 6 wins to England’s 5, leaving 9 draws between them. They last met at the 2006 World Cup, when the match ended in a 2-2 draw out in Cologne, Germany. The previous match to that was an International Friendly in Gothenburg which Sweden won 1-0. The last time that England hosted Sweden at Wembley was back in 2000 which produced a 0-0 draw. They did meet in Manchester in 2001, which ended in another draw. Four of the last five international friendlies of England v Sweden have ended in a draw (the exception being a 1-0 win for the Swedes). So you gauge from that just how close this encounter is likely to be for your England v Sweden betting.

England v Sweden Betting
England to win: 3/4 at Victor Chandler
Draw: 13/5 at Totesport
Sweden to win: 4/1 at Totesport

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England boss Fabio Capello will ring the changes to the national side for their international friendly against Sweden on Tuesday. There will be a total of eight personnel changes from the starting line up which beat Spain on the weekend, as Capello experiments with his squad. Scott Carson will get the nod in goal for the visit of Sweden, who England haven’t beaten in their last twelve meetings. Everton’s Jack Rodwell should get a start in midfield, with Tottenham’s Kyle Walker also getting the nod in the starting eleven. It is looking likely that Bobby Zamora will be the one starting up front, possibly alongside Manchester United’s Danny Welbeck. That means that Chelsea’s Daniel Sturridge will have to watch the early stages from the bench as he awaits his debut. There will also be changes at the back, with Phil Jagielka withdrawing because of a toe injury, which could mean that John Terry gets drafted back in as experience to try and stop Sweden’s big Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Following this test against Sweden, England will face one of Euro 2012’s favourites, Holland as they continue their preparations for next year’s finals. Online bookmaker Boylesports are running a First Goalscorer betting promotion for England v Spain betting, which is going to be worth looking at.

If your First Goalscorer selection fails to open the scoring in the match, but is the one who manages to net the second goal of the England v Sweden international friendly, then the bookie will refund your lost First Goalscorer stake as a free bet. This gives you a nice bit of coverage, and it will be interesting to see if England can find an attacking balance after a 90 minute defensive display against the Spaniards. Sweden are always a well organized and tough side to break down, and they will join England at the Euro 2012 finals, after qualifying as the best runner up.

So the Boylesports First Goalscorer Money Back Special means that you can take a bit of insurance in this market. Darren Bent is still favourite to open the scoring with the bookie at a price 5/1, while Bobby Zamora and Daniel Sturridge are both priced at 6/1 and Danny Welbeck back at 7/1. Sweden’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic is also at 7/1 along with Saturday’s goal scoring hero, Frank Lampard. So there are good options in your First Goalscorer betting market for England v Sweden, and you will get any losing stake refunded if your First Goalscorer does score first, but does hit the second goal of the game. So good coverage worth taking if you were looking at this market anyway.

The highly popular online bookmaker Boylesports offer a free £20 bet as a welcome bonus for new customers. The bookie will match the value of your first bet with a free bet, up to the maximum of £20 on a new account. So will England be able to produce a confident, attacking display against the Swedes, against whom, they have a pretty even head to head record? This is another big test of England’s Euro 2012 credentials, a completely different test from the Spain match, but a test nonetheless. England are currently priced at 12/1 with Boylesports to win Euro 2012.

With England’s defensive, 10 man behind the ball victory over Spain on the weekend naturally this is a good opportunity to go and take a look at some England Euro 2012 betting specials. In the outright winner market, England are still nestled back in the chasing pack, out at 12/1 at Bwin. They are firmly behind Spain, Germany and Holland, which is understandable, because all three of those sides play wonderful, fluent, attacking football, and a winner of next summer’s finals will likely come from that trio. While England’s Spanish victory can give fans room for cautious optimism, there are likely going to be better markets for value to explore than getting behind England to win the tournament outright. Online bookmaker SkyBet are worth visiting to  check out England Euro 2012 Stage of Elimination betting. Of course, we don’t know what the group drawing is going to be, but surprisingly, England to go out at the Group Stage is 6/4 favourite in this market. Not a very optimistic outlook, and remember that England will be without Wayne Rooney, so how are England going to fare under competitive circumstances? After boring the world at the 2010 World Cup, has Capello progressed the national team enough to be competent Euro 2012 contenders? There is good value in 9/4 at  SkyBet for England’s elimination to come in the Quarter Finals which seems to be about the right kind of balance in the market. Other options here would be Semi Finals at 7/2 and Runners Up at 8/1. So good options and some genuine value than the one big outside shot of England lifting the trophy at the conclusion of Poland and Ukraine Euro 2012. One other bet along these lines can be found at Unibet, where England are 7/5 with the bookie to make the Semi Finals of Euro 2012.

So let us move on the players. Most of us could sit down and pencil in a squad, but with plenty of time to go until the summer finals, is there going to be a surprise inclusion? Arsenal ‘sAlex-Oxalde Chamberlein is the favourite selection in To Make The Squad betting at SportingBet, trading at 100/30 to muscle his way into the Euro 2012 squad. Or how about a longer shot of Owen Hargreaves, who is out at 7/2 to get back on the international scene next summer? Perhaps though, one of the most popular markets is going to be Top England Goalscorer betting. At least you can really narrow this one down a bit as you look down the coupon, against at SkyBet. Let’s assume Wayne Rooney is going to be missing from all group matches, so that will likely leave Darren Bent spear heading the attack. Bent is favourite at 5/1, with Manchester United winger Ashley Young just behind him at 6/1 with SkyBet. United team mate Danny Welbeck, who looks a genuine long term prospect for the national side, is priced at 8/1, the same price as the old steady hand of Frank Lampard, who continues to be in the right place at the right time. After his winner against Spain, and his recent form for his club Chelsea, he has to be good value. But the most interesting price in this market is Wayne Rooney at 6/1. Even if he misses the group stage, Capello is likely to take him and throw him into action in the knockout stages. Will he be hungry and explode into life with some golden boot magic? Naturally his games, and therefore chances as ending up as top scorer will be limited, but he is still trading well at 6/1 with SkyBet, so interesting considerations there.

So what do England really have to offer in the finals? Only time will tell. Will be worth heading to online bookmaker SkyBet for the markets above, because they have great coverage on alternative markets like this. SkyBet offer a superb sign up bonus as well for new customers registering an account. The bookie will automatically credit new accounts with a free £10 bet upon registration. This is completely free and there is nothing to do to get it, other than sign up. Which will make for the easiest free £10 bet you could possibly get!

England v Spain will be the next big match on the betting calendar on November 12th, and boss Fabio Capello has announced that Chelsea’s John Terry will be in the squad against the World Champions. Terry is still under scrutiny because of an alleged racial comments back to QPR’s Anton Ferdinand. Some expected Terry to be left out until a line has been drawn under the investigation, but with backing from QPR’s owner Tony Fernandes, Capello will call upon the services of John Terry again. Chelsea boss Andre Villas Boas has already stood by Terry in terms of not leaving him out of the club side, so Capello has followed suit. While Terry will be in the England squad, Capello has been a bit hesitant over whether Terry will actually play in the match or not, or use the experience against Spain to see how some of the back up players perform. Capello said that he knows what John Terry can do, but it is important to test the abilities of other players against the very best in the world. So we will have to wait and see whether Terry is in the side for England v Spain international friendly betting. One man who definitely won’t be in the squad for England’s games against Spain and Sweden during the international break next week, is Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney. Rooney of course picked up a red card in England’s final Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro, which means that he will miss England’s next three competitive matches, in other words, the group stage of next summer’s finals. The FA are appealing Rooney’s ban, but Capello has left the striker out, probably sensibly until the outcome of the appeal is known, and again it gives Capello a good chance to look at his alternative options, if they have to do without him for the early part of Euro 2012. Capello still hasn’t been drawn on whether he will take Rooney to the finals, if he has to served out his three match ban. Rooney’s team mate Rio Ferdinand will also miss out on the England squad because of poor form.

So Capello looks as if he will use the forthcoming matches as a testing ground for some of his back up players to take a chance. He has called up Chelsea’s Daniel Sturridge, along with a recall for Aston Villa’s Gabriel Agbonlahor up front. Everton’s Jack Rodwell also gets a place in the squad for the first time. If Capello does use the match as a testing ground, it may be a good excuse if they lose, which it appears is if the bookies are expecting them to do so. England topped their group in Euro 2012 qualifier group, going unbeaten. They will come up against the World Champions Spain, who also topped their Euro 2012 qualifier group, but also did it in style with a 100% record winning all of their matches. Spain’s David Villa was third top scorer through qualification, netting seven goals in their eight matches. England’s Darren Bent, Jermain Defoe, Wayne Rooney and Ashley Young all chipped in with three goals each during their group. Spain are the number one ranked team in the world, while England are currently seventh. It is a good chance to look at the head to head record between the two nations, where there have been 22 matches played. England actually lead the head to head with 11 wins to Spain’s 8. There have been three draws and in those meetings, England have scored 38 goals against Spain’s 24. It has mostly been International Friendly matches between the two of them though, and Spain have won the last three meetings. The last time they met was in Sevilla in 2009, when the hosts ran out 2-0 winners. Prior to that, there as  1-0 away win for Spain in 2007, the last time the two of them met in England. In the 16 recorded International Friendly matches between England v Spain, there has only been one draw, with England winning eight and Spain seven.

The bookies are in favour of the visitors in England v Spain betting at Wembley on November 12th. While there is no importance on the match of course, we could see plenty of experimentation, but for England it seems more of an important fixture than the cohesive Spaniards. Spain are who England really have to look up to and try and match in terms of quality, if they want to win Euro 2012, with or without Rooney. There should be goal scoring potential for both sides in this match, so we could see a good scoring match. Naturally you will expect Spain to control all of the possession, and it’ll be the highest quality test for England.

England v Spain International Friendly Betting Odds
England to win: 12/5 at Bwin
Draw: 13/5 at Stan James
Spain to win: 6/5 at William Hill

England Squad News v Spain: Joe Hart, Scott Carson, David Stockdale; Glen Johnson , Phil Jones, Gary Cahill, John Terry, Ashley Cole, Leighton Baines, Phil Jagielka, Joleon Lescott, Kyle Walker; Frank Lampard, Jack Rodwell, Stewart Downing, Gareth Barry, Adam Johnson, James Milner, Scott Parker, Theo Walcott; Darren Bent, Daniel Sturridge, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Bobby Zamora, Danny Welbeck

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What will England boss Fabio Capello do with Wayne Rooney, as it will surely have an influence on your Euro 2012 betting. The England striker kicked out at a player in England’s final Euro 2012 qualification match in Podgorica, against Montenegro, an action which the UEFA disciplinary committee described as an assault. That has led to a three match ban for Rooney, meaning that he will miss the next three UEFA national competition matches. Here is where the dilemma is. Does Capello still take Rooney to the finals, even though the Manchester United striker would miss all group matches, or does he take an extra eligible player who can help in trying to secure passage through the group stage? The debates about this are raging. England are currently trading at a best price of 12/1 with Ladbrokes win Euro 2012, but what are the implications of Rooney’s Red Card for England Euro 2012 betting? The price on England winning at Euro 2012 has not really fluctuated much, with Rooney’s ban. But naturally, he is the focal point of the attack, and the forward system has been built around, the link up man between the midfield and the attack. Him dropping off a little deeper behind is what creates a lot of space for the England forwards. So is it worth taking him to come into the latter stages of the tournament? It is a bit of a headache for Capello, who is missing arguably his best player. It is not just a matter of keeping Rooney until the latter stages of a tournament, there is also the handling of the mental attitude of the player. Rooney will have to be in tip top physical and mental shape to walk back in the side, if his stand in does well in the group stage of Euro 2012.

While Rooney’s absence is a massive blow for England, because let’s face it, if he is fit, you pick him, but the United forward doesn’t have a great history for his country at major finals. There was the injury at Euro 2004, the red card at the 2006 World Cup, the complete absence of desire and form at the 2010 World Cup. Would England miss him all that much? The fact of the matter is that England have grown considerably as a team. They are still not world beaters by any stretch of the imagination, but losing Rooney is unlikely to be too much of a disaster. Here is why. England have won a higher percentage of games without Rooney than with him. England are clicking at a 69% success rate when Rooney isn’t in the team, compared to a 60% success rate when he is. So now Capello has to decide what to do. England have good forward capabilities still, with the likes of Darren Bent, Bobby Zamora, Jermain Defoe, Ashley Young, Danny Welbeck, Andy Carroll, Theo Walcott and outsiders such Chelsea’s Daniel Sturridge, Villa’s Gabby Agbonlahor, Peter Crouch and even perhaps Michael Owen. But it is finding that link up between midfield and attack, replacing that special talent which Rooney is. Our prediction is that Capello will take him, and watching from the stands Rooney will probably get fired up for action, wanting to right the wrongs of his impetuous kick in Montenegro. England play Spain (12th) and Sweden (15th) in November, and there we will see what Capello will do. The England boss has a good eight months to try and figure out what to do with his starting line up for the group stage of Euro 2012

Euro 2012 Outright Winner Odds
Spain: 11/4 at Totesport
Germany: 4/1 at Bet365
Holland: 6/1 at Bet365
England: 12/1 at Ladbrokes
France: 12/ 1 at Bet365
Italy: 12/1 at Victor Chandler
Portugal: 22/1 at Stan James

Naturally, with the Rooney saga raging, you would expect to have a punt on whether or not Rooney will make the England Euro 2012 squad. Well the expectancy really is that high that Rooney will go anyway, that Victor Chandler, where a No for Rooney making the squad is trading at 3/1 is about the best option you will find anywhere right now.

But it is also a good time to look at the Stage of Elimination for England at Euro 2012 with online bookmaker SkyBet. How much will Rooney’s absence from at least the group stage effect how far they get? Well the favourite selection in this market is England getting Eliminated at the Group Stage for 6/4. You look at the teams which have qualified alongside England (like Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Holland, Russia, Denmark etc) and there really doesn’t look as if there are going to be any easy games to come at the finals. But England getting Eliminated from the tournament at the Quarter Finals stage is 9/4 at SkyBet, while a Semi Final exit is trading at 7/2 with the bookies. The odds really don’t show a lot of confidence in England, and ex England defender Gary Neville has been quite vocal in his stance that England are not good enough, not mobile or strong enough to win the tournament. It is time to put you money down on England’s chances at Euro 2012, with or without Rooney.

Montenegro v England Euro 2012 qualifier betting sees Fabio Capello’s men with their last chance to book top spot in Group G. They head out to Montenegro needing just a point in the bag to come away with top spot. The two sides met in a disappointing goal less draw at Wembley last October, and while that would be enough for England in Podgorica on Friday, they want to get through this in style. England set themselves up for this with a 1-0 win over Wales at Wembley at the start of September. Again it was a very poor home performance from England, and they mysteriously continue to struggle at home through these qualifiers. But at least they can bank on their away form, which has been 100% and which has been the big difference between them pushing on at the top of the group and Group G being a more closely contested affair. But England were handed a huge helping hand by Wales, who beat Montenegro in September. That was a big shock from the Welsh who hadn’t picked up a point in the group until then, so it has helped leave England with a six point gap over second placed Montenegro. This is England’s final match of Euro 2012 qualification though, while Montenegro still have a game in hand (away at Switzerland). So that is why England need a point to guarantee top spot in the group, because if Montenegro win on Friday, England’s fortunes will be in the hands of Montenegro. If Montenegro win their last two matches, they would finish top of the group (level on points with England) because of their better head to head against Capello’s men.

The winner of the group gets an automatic place at next summer’s final, while the runner up can go into a play off. But Montenegro’s form has dropped away in the closing straight of the Euro 2012 qualifiers, which may play in to England’s hands. Montenegro were held to a draw at home against Bulgaria, before suffering that huge blow of a defeat against Wales. That saw them drop five crucial points in two matches, and it let to a change of head coach, with Zlatko Kranjcar being sacked and Branko Brnovic taking charge of the national side for the first time in this massive match. So Montenegro have to go for this, and when they did visit Wembley, they looked a very accomplished side, and could easily have won the match when they struck the cross bar late in the match. Montenegro will be stronger than they were for the previous two matches, as they get four of their regular defenders back. This is the first time that Montenegro will have hosted England at home at a senior level, so we have no history to look at. We can look at Montenegro’s home form though in Group G, where they have won two and drawn one, which points to a tight match ahead for Capello. While they keep things tight at the back, one thing that Montenegro are not, and that is prolific. They have hit only five goals in their six Euro 2012 qualification matches so far, and that is in comparison to England’s 15. Arguably England have the bigger firepower, especially with Capello shaking things up and naming five strikers in his squad, but Montenegro have won all of their matches by a 1-0 score line so far in the Group, so there are warning signs for England

Fabio Capello has left out Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand, in perhaps the biggest surprise of his squad. Despite the former captain playing back to back games for his club, Capello has snubbed him for the group decider. With Everton’s Phil Jagielka and Gary Cahill as coverage alongside Chelsea’s John Terry, England look pretty solid at the back. After scoring a blazing winning goal in the North London derby on the weekend, Spurs’ full back Kyle Walker gets back into the squad, although he awaits his first appearance. No surprises in the midfield really, with Frank Lampard keeping his place in the squad, silencing his critics on the weekend with a hat trick for Chelsea. There is no Steven Gerrard or Jack Wilshere of course in the middle of the park, but Capello has good options in Gareth Barry and Scott Parker, who will likely contest for starting places.  Up front, Capello has unusually gone for five strikers, with Darren Bent, Andy Carroll, Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck and Bobby Zamora all getting the nod, and of which, all but Rooney scored in the Premier League on the weekend. So that has to be a positive sign with the England strikers in good form. There have been doubts about Rooney’s fitness for the match, after missing matches for his club, but he still makes his way back into the squad.

So England have their own destiny in their hands, but more importantly, they are looking for a confident win. Capello has said that he is not going out there to just settle for a draw from kick off, and midfielder Gareth Barry has stated that England need a win to build some confidence. England have not played too convincingly at times in the qualifiers, particularly at home. But England’s away form has been good, three wins from three and they have conceded just once on their travels so far in the Group. It should be a perfectly winnable match for England, but they do need to assert some kind of control in the match and not just try and coast their way through it. England have looked a more competent side away from Wembley though, and that is reason enough to back them in Montenegro v England betting. Capello has in form strikers at his disposal, and the defence looks strong enough. Yes, they are lacking some experience with Ferdinand and Gerrard out, but they should be good enough to win this. The key area should be in the midfield and how well they can get stuck in there are maintain possession.

Montenegro v England Betting Odds
England to win: 4/5 at Stan James
Draw: 5/2 at SkyBet
Montenegro to win: 4/1 at Bet365

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Montenegro v England Betting Tip: England 1-0 Correct Score for 5/1 at Bet365 (see promotion above). Decent price and just a bit more value than back England outright if you want to go this route. Can’t really ignore England’s good form away from home, and while Montenegro will have to be going hard at this, needing a win, it should create a little extra space for the strikers to pounce for England. It will likely just take one chance to win it away from home for England. Both sides have only conceded three goals, but England do have the ascendancy in goal scoring.

England squad to face Montenegro: Scott Carson, Joe Hart, David Stockdale; Leighton Baines, Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole, Phil Jagielka, Phil Jones, Micah Richards, John Terry, Kyle Walker; Gareth Barry, Stewart Downing, Adam Johnson, Frank Lampard, James Milner, Scott Parker, Theo Walcott, Ashley Young; Darren Bent, Andy Carroll, Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck, Bobby Zamora

There are some big Euro 2012 qualification matches coming up for the home nations over the next few days, and online bookmaker Paddy Power are leading off with a great football betting promotion. Paddy Power are offering a Euro 2012 Qualifiers money back special on the forthcoming matches for England and Ireland. England are out in Bulgaria on Friday evening, looking for a big win which would help keep Montenegro off their backs. England are level with Montenegro at the top of the group, and cannot afford any more slip ups, but have been dealt a blow with news that striker Darren Bent may not be able to take part because of injury. There is a big three points on the line in Sofia. On Friday night, Ireland have some home comforts as they take on Slovakia. Ireland too have everything to play for, as they top their group on goal difference, but are level on points with Russia and Slovakia. A win here for Ireland would keep their noses in front and really hinder Slovakia, and it would also serve as a massive confidence booster ahead of a long trip to Russia on Tuesday. As things are set up, the Russia v Ireland match on Tuesday could well be a group decider, and Ireland need one of their biggest four days in international football if they want to guarantee their place at next Summer’s Euro 2012 Championships. On Tuesday there is also a British derby taking place at Wembley Stadium, which should be a raucous affair. England v Wales will help determine whether England are going to book top spot in their group, but after having beaten Wales away, they know that the Welsh will be keen to turn up and spoil their party in London. So these are big matches ahead for Ireland and England, and doing your Euro 2012 betting at Paddy Power will offer some insurance. If Ireland or England lead at half time in either of their next two matches, but fail to go on and win their match, then Paddy Power will offer refunds on all losing First Goalscorer, Last Goalscorer, Correct Score and Scorecast singles which have been placed on the match. This applies to the Bulgaria v England and Ireland v Slovakia matches on Friday, and the Russia v Ireland and England v Wales matches on Tuesday. This Euro 2012 Qualifiers money back special from Paddy Power allows you to dip into the aforementioned markets and take some coverage. Both England and Ireland really need to step on the gas in qualification, so get your betting coverage at Paddy Power. The highly rated online bookmaker Paddy Power offer a £50 free matched bet when opening a new account. New customers can register and when they place a first stake of up to £50, Paddy Power will match the value of this stake up to that maximum.

Wales v England Rugby betting for Saturday, August 13th at the Millennium Stadium, will see the two old rivals go back into action against one another for the second weekend running. England ran out 23-19 winners at Twickenham in their first encounter, which was a bit of rusty affair after players were getting back into action. England had to survive a good second half comeback from Wales in the second half, and while some questions for the coaches will have been answered ahead of Saturday’s rematch, there are still plenty awaiting conclusion. Wales v England rugby betting is another step along the path to the 2011 Rugby World Cup, and that is what this is all about. While the Southern Hemisphere teams scrap it out in the Tri Nations, the home nations square off against each for vital fine tuning ahead of the tournament. England go into the match having made 13 changes from last Saturday’s line up at Twickenham. Centre Mike Tindall will take over the captains armband again as regular captain Lewis Moody remains under cautionary watch. It should be an England side closer to what we may see at the World Cup. The likes of Toby Flood, Dan Cole and Courtney Lawes will be on display in a strong side. After the match against Wales, coach Marin Johnson will trim the current 40 man squad down to just 30.

England were surprisingly cautious and not really willing to play with too much width. Delon Armitage did try and get things moving, and the steady old hand of Jonny Wilkinson was attempting to move the ball, but the width was not there. Certainly not the kind of invention we had seen in the Six Nations from the English. Still, Martin Johnson used the match very wisely in only fielding four players from the 2011 Six Nations in the starting line up. Johnson wanted a good look at players on the fringe of the starting fifteen, so that players could have their chance to impress and make a World Cup starting place their own, or even book their place in the squad travelling to New Zealand for the 2011 Rugby World Cup which starts on September 9th in new Zealand. While England were the better team in the close quarters, and Jonny Wilkinson gave a very controlled and efficient performance in taking over from Toby Flood at fly half, the expansion wasn’t there. That is not to say that is it is not coming, that it is not going to be there at the World Cup, but this was more of a match for Johnson to see what further work needed to be done on the training ground. One area is certainly in discipline as the English defence gave away a lot of penalties when they came under pressure from the Welsh toward the back end of the match. They won’t be able to afford to do that against better teams on the day. There was a lot of solidity about the pack, and England do look to have pretty good coverage in depth in that area, just what is needed for a tough World Cup campaign. One of the bright sparks for England, was Manu Tuilagi, who ran in a fantastic try off a Jonny Wilkinson pass. His pace and power in the midfield is something England will certainly benefit from at the World Cup. He gives England big options there to split a game open. England will know that they can still rely on Wilkinson himself, who was precise and controlled all afternoon, and while he may not get the starting call in New Zealand, he is still pressing hard for a starting place. England said that they needed realistic pressure to really see where they were, and because the whole test match was a bit lack lustre (just compare it to the relentless blood and thunder of the New Zealand v Australia Tri Nations match earlier in the day), both sides will probably feel satisfied to shake the rust off and look ahead.

Wales, for their part, although they lacked a bit of quality at times, put up a better show than many were expecting. After losing Stephen Jones in the warm up and then Morgan Stoddart to a broken leg in the match, there was a degree of disruption going on for Wales. Still, they tried to approach the game with as positive a mind set as possible and they will be relatively happy with what they delivered as a whole. They kept their penalty count down to a minimum and they threw the ball out wide. They also made England work very hard at the break down, because the Welsh were very, very keen in aggressive defence. Granted, Wales do need a bit more defensive organisation, and their pack looks as if it needs someone to hold it together and give it a bit more cohesion. On the first outlook of the match at Twickenham, Wales may get easily bullied by opposition packs. Young captain Sam Warburton was something of a revelation for them, and is a definite huge prospect for the future, while Rhys Priestland stood up very well in goal kicking duties. There will be worries about the strength of depth that Wales will be able to carry down to New Zealand for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, but there does look to be something taking shape there, so there are positives to take and build upon. Coach Warren Gatland does need quite a bit more time on the training ground with his squad, and they looked as if they were playing off the cuff as to having any concrete game plan in how to approach the game. We could see a much stronger, more experienced Welsh side, with the likes of Lee Byrne, James Hook, Matthew Rees, Gethin Jenkins coming back in to the fold. Hook will come in at Full Back on Saturday, while Gavin Henson also makes his way back into the starting fifteen in the centre. Wales want to send a message to their rivals and their fans that they can compete.

With the home crowd, Wales will be keen to overturn the damage done to them at the Millennium Stadium by England in the Six Nations earlier in the year. Then England seemed to be in control and had to weather a come back from Wales. These test matches are never going to be played at full intensity, it is just not going to happen. Both coaches will continue to work the kinks out of their squads, and take a look at players, so there could be several different personnel in action on Saturday. Still, England are the more accomplished, stronger team all round. They are able to knuckle down and win the big battles up front, and if they do expand, then they look ready to pick the Welsh off. But the Welsh will probably be the more open of the two teams again, and that may be a good thing for England’s defence as they test their mettle. England did look a bit naïve in defence, and while it wasn’t anywhere near the starting fifteen that we will see at the World Cup, Martin Johnson will want to know that he can rely on players coming in. This is massive game for some of the players involved, especially in the competitive England squad. There are places to be grabbed on the plane to the Southern Hemisphere to face the best in the world, and the preparations really need to start going up a gear.

Wales v England Rugby Betting
Wales to win: 9/5 at SportingBet
Draw: 22/1 at Paddy Power
England to win: 4/7 at Totesport

Wales v England Rugby Betting Tip:
Has the makings of being close again, with the two teams feeling their way to their strongest squads, yet players wary of not getting injured. Wales will be fired up on home turf, but England may just have that bit of extra control in the end to get the job done. England should still have a greater advantage in scrimmaging power and technique.

Capello looks to keep England on track for future

Focus will be back on Fabio Capello as England v Netherlands international friendly betting takes place on Wednesday, August 10th. The timing of the friendly has been much criticised, because the new season of the Premier League starts just three days later. Well, no matter what, Capello will have to field a side and because of the timing we are likely to see a strong outfit for half of the game only. That is understandable, but it will break the players back into international duty ahead of England’s next Euro 2012 qualifier on September 2nd out in Bulgaria. After missing out on the last qualification match against Switzerland, England should be able to welcome back strikers Andy Carroll and Wayne Rooney into the fold. Their absence left England a little short up front, and the Three Lions played out a disappointing 2-2 draw at Wembley. So Capello will be happy to have a little more punch up front, and will most keen to get Andy Carroll some valuable minutes in an England shirt up front. Capello though will be missing Theo Walcott and Jack Wilshere from the squad, most likely anyway, as they are nursing injuries which probably means that they won’t be risked. Their respective clubs won’t want them taking part anyway, not a few days before the new Premier League season. So England won’t have any big surprises in the squad when it is trimmed to 23 players on the weekend. Manchester United new boy Phil Jones will earn a place in the squad, and keeper David Stockdale should be back in the fold after missing the Switzerland match due to wedding commitments.

This is a very important period for England boss Fabio Capello, as he will be exiting the hot seat after Euro 2012. England are really looking to him to ease in a new youthful era of English football, and while he is heading in that direction, there are still position which need some forward planning for. Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard may or may not make the game, and along with Frank Lampard, make up the back bone of a midfield who may not be around much longer. At the back, Rio Ferdinand and John Terry surely won’t carry the hopes of England’s defence on their shoulders too far beyond Euro 2012, so Capello needs to start giving experience to England’s future. He needs to leave England in a strong position for the next manager to step in, who will be guiding them through World Cup 2014 qualification. LA Galaxy’s David Beckham will be disappointed as he still has England ambitions, but his name was not on the list for the provisional squad. England need to be a bit better than they have been in their past few games. Their friendly defeat by France at Wembley was an eye opener, a draw against Ghana was a disappointment, and then failure to overpower a one dimensional Switzerland at Wembley suggested that there is still a lot of work to do to secure England’s future. England have now only won two of their last six matches, which really is not good enough. While getting to Euro 2012 of course will be the big concern for England fans, the set up really needs to start looking beyond that or risk getting left behind further by the modern football that the likes of Germany, and next Wednesday’s opponents, the Netherlands are playing. England v Netherlands International Friendly Betting Odds really are showing nothing between the two sides.

As for the Netherlands, who made it to the final of the 2010 World Cup and then let themselves down badly, things are continuing to look on the up and up for them. They have kept faith with coach Bert van Marwijk, and rightly so, as they continue to play very good football. They are breezing through their Euro 2012 qualification group, scoring plenty and conceding little, and will provide England a very tough test at Wembley. They play some of the best international football around, and forget that abhorrent display in the World Cup final, that was not the real Netherlands. The men in orange, currently ranked number two in the world, are a threat to most teams across the globe. They have a great set up, are very organised thanks to a holding midfield, but break free with some really clinical ruthlessness. They have the control of a very slick passing game, holding on to possession, but also know how to inject pace. Compared to England’s often one dimensional game, the Netherlands look very versatile and adaptable. The Netherlands took a trip across to South America in the summer to face Brazil and Uruguay in international friendlies. Both of those matches ended in draws, but there were several main players missing from the squad. That gave Marwijk a chance to have a look at some promising youngsters, and three of them have been kept in the squad to face England. Kevin Strootman, Georginio Wijnaldum and former Chelsea full back Jeffrey Bruma will all stay on senior duty to face England at Wembley. The Netherlands are waiting on the fitness of apparent Manchester United target Wesley Sneijder, Bayern Munich’s Arjen Robben and Tottenham’s Rafael van der Vaart. So just like England, we may only see a glimpse of the Netherlands’ real strengths in the match, but England v Netherlands International Friendly Betting Odds could offer more value in backing the away team.

England v Netherlands International Friendly Betting Odds
England to win: 7/5 at Bwin
Draw: 12/5 at SkyBet
Netherlands to win: 9/5 at Bwin

England v Netherlands Head to Head
Well the head to head between these two nations have provided a lot of drawn matches, so that will probably be a very good indicator for your England v Holland betting here. Out of 18 encounters, nine of the matches have ended in a draw. As for the win column, England have won five, while the Netherlands have scored four victories. So really nothing to split the teams, and England have netted 26 goals in those 18 matches, while the Netherlands have bagged themselves 21. The last time they played was back in 2009 in Amsterdam, when England came back from a 2-0 half time deficit to draw. That was the fourth draw in a row between the two sides. The last time they played in London was back in 2001, when Holland came away 2-0 winners. The last time England beat Holland in London, was back in 1982.

England v Netherlands Betting Tip
With the start of the domestic seasons really more of a priority than this, and because the teams won’t play to full strength for ninety minutes, and because of all the drawn matches between them, look for a draw option on your England v Holland betting. Four consecutive draws between them looks set to be added to.

England v Wales rugby betting is on the cards for Saturday at Twickenham, as the two nations start their serious preparations for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. England will be the favourites to win this competitive international, as they look to be a fierce force at the tournament in New Zealand later in the year. Now England boss Martin Johnson will look for his side to deliver an impressive series of matches to get ready for the World Cup challenge ahead. England are still developing their side and their squad, so the big question is, are they ready? They won the Six Nations, which was a joyful return to success for the Twickenham faithful, but there was still the huge disappointment of the defeat against Ireland which stopped them winning the Grand Slam. Defeats are often the best tools from learning, and England need to find a way to move on from that. That was a disappointment, just as was the defeat in the 2007 World Cup final to South Africa. Four years on, England are arguably better than then, and there is a great versatility about the squad at the moment, and with Johnson finally putting some faith in younger players, they look ready for the challenge. What they will produce on the pitch of course, under pressure, is another matter. They blew it against Ireland, and therefore they need to still develop a ruthless cutting edge which maybe is missing. But at the same time, they came through some good challenges in the Six Nations, beating Wales in a tricky opener down at the Millennium Stadium, and beating a strong France side at Twickenham.

For the large part of the 2011 RBS Six nations, England did very well, put a lot of things together right, but at times they showed inexperience and it could be the thing which stops them winning the World Cup. So England v Wales rugby betting on Saturday is going to be a good indicator of England’s mentality. Granted there is nothing riding on this match other than getting themselves into shape and for Johnson to get a good look at his starting fifteen, but the squad is just as important as those charged with starting the match. England will go full tilt at Wales on Saturday, they have to, because anything less than that will prove nothing to Johnson. The players in the squad are still fighting for players and have to prove to the boss that they are worthy of starting in the Rugby World Cup. There is a more adventurous and attacking feel about England at the moment, and it has certainly been a long time coming. England ran in twelve tries in their five Six Nations matches, and try scoring has been a problem for England for a couple of years now. They need to continue momentum by putting the Welsh to the sword at Twickenham, before going back to Cardiff for a rematch the following week. England have been boosted by the return of captain Lewis Moody, who is fit again after getting injured in the Six Nations. The newly wed Mike Tindall stepped in as captain then, and there is the perfect example of England’s spattering of steady experience in the side to complement youth.

England start their World Cup campaign on September 10th against Argentina, but preparations and style of play cannot be compared to any of the previous two World Cups. Heading into their World Cup group, England are strong favourites to come out on top, as they are pooled with Georgia, Romania and Scotland, along with Argentina. The question this time around is how well England can get over the disappointments they have suffered since losing the last World Cup final in 2007. England have cut out Joe Worsley for their training squad, making him highly unlikely to make the World Cup. England also cut George Chuter, Thomas Waldrom, David Strettle and James Simpson-Daniel from the squad. That has left big opportunities for the likes of Charlie Sharples and Manu Tuilagi, who are bursts of youthful talent, but their lack of experience could keep them on the fringes. But England do have potentially clinical finishing with the likes of Tuilagi and Chris Ashton who made such a big impact in the Six Nations. England do have a great blend of experience and youth, but they are definitely leaning on building a youthful outlook, not only for this World Cup but beyond. Two good performances against Wales will justify England’s price to win the World Cup, which has shortened a little. As for the immediate options in England v Wales Rugby betting, the home side should be well worth backing strongly. They performed strongly in a 26-19 Six Nations opener in February away from home, so England should be able to exploit and turn on the jets back at Twickenham.

As for Wales, they will head to Twickenham without their Captain Matthew Rees. Wales are on the opposite scale to England, in that coach Warren Gatland seems to be unsure of what his best side is, and is not sure who to put in and where. England’s Martin Johnson has far more options to accentuate a starting backbone without breaking shape or game plan. Wales have been out in Poland trying to get conditioned physically, ready for the World Cup. There is a fragility of Wales, which showed up when they barely managed to beat Italy at the Six Nations, somehow managing to avoid defeat against Ireland before getting trounced by France. Most of Wales’ problems are in the defence and organisation. You can always expect exciting running, but there has not been too much evidence of a well though out game plan. England should be able to dominate in the scrum, as England have certainly developed a great mobility in their forwards. They are not perfect and they can be disrupted, but over the course of eighty minutes at Twickenham, you really have to back an England win. They should be able to set up a strong platform with their forwards, before throwing it around and opening the game up in the second half. The more open Wales try to play the match, they will get punished by the England backs.

England v Wales Rugby Betting
England to win: 2/9 at Totesport
Draw: 25/1 at Bet365
Wales to win: 9/2 at SportingBet

England v Wales Head to Head
There have been 120 meetings between the two nations, with things pretty tight in the overall head to head stats. England have won 55 of the meetings, with Wales winning 53. There have been twelve drawn matches between them. The largest win for England was a 62-5 margin and England do have the advantage in average points per match when the two nations meet. England average 12.97 points per match against Wales, while the Welsh average 11.21 points per game against England. The last encounter between them was in the 2011 Six Nations with England winning 26-19 at the Millennium Stadium.

England are 12/1 at Paddy Power to win the 2011 Rugby World Cup
Wales are 80/1 at Victor Chandler to win the 2011 Rugby World Cup