England v Wales Betting Preview – Euro 2016, 16th June
England again failed to win an opening match at a European Championship as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Russia. The Three Lions looked comfortable for most of the match and then their defence let them down in stoppage time, conceding an equaliser. That was a tough blow and they now have to pick themselves up for the home nations derby clash against Wales on Thursday. Wales will be buoyant after winning their opener against Slovakia. Will they feel the backlash of the Three Lions or will they be able to stunt the progress of their rivals even further?
Stan James have superb coverage on the home nations at Euro 2106 available. They are offering the top price on each home nation to win each of their matches at Euro 2016. Not only that they are going top price on each of the home nations to win the tournament outright and they offering first goalscorer insurance on all matches as well. Get into the Euro 2016 betting action with Stan James and earn a free £20 bet as a welcome bonus when you open an account with them.
England v Wales Betting Tips
There were positives and negatives to be taken from England’s energetic opener against Russia at Euro 2016. The positives were that they went into the game with an attack-minded approach and they lived up to it for the most part and looked a decent side. However, the negatives would be that they weren’t more ruthless because they could and should have had the game won by half time and their defence crumbled when it just needed to stand tall for two minutes at the end of the game. So all that has culminated in extra pressure on them to go out and win the game against Wales. This could have been a lot more comfortable going into this one, but maybe the pressure will see them find that extra edge. They know that they are going to go into this and get a tough game from the Welsh. When it comes to spirit, heart, energy and determination, the Welsh will more than match the English out on the pitch.
This one is likely to be intense, because of the situation in the group and because of it being a clash between home nations. Six of the last seven games between England and Wales have drifted away under 2.5 goals and it would make sense to follow suit in this one and run with that trend. Under 2.5 goals is a 3/4 quote at online betting site Stan James for this game. England have won their last four games on the bounce against Wales and have kept a clean sheet in each of them. The last time they came together was competitively when they are matched up in Euro 2012 qualifying, England coming out on top in both of them. You can back England to win to nil at a 6/4 quote for this latest meeting and conceding that England have taken five clean sheets in their last seven against Wales, it’s a reasonable punt. An England 1-0 correct score is a 5/1 quote on the game, while Harry Kane, who wasn’t great against Russia, even money to score in the anytime goalscorer market.
Gareth Bale is a 2/1 shot to score in the match along with pretty much the rest of England’s forwards. Bale opened the scoring in Wales’ 2-1 win over Slovakia, to give the Welsh a good foothold in the group and something to play for here. Would they be totally unhappy with a draw against England? Probably not. Against Slovakia they had their moments of being in control, but they also found themselves on the back foot for most of the final third of the game, especially after Slovakia had muddled their equaliser in. Wales then have lost their last four against England and so are big underdogs here and you are looking at a price of even on them to get a goal on board through the Both Teams To Score market. Wales have won just two of their last eight fixtures now and the win over Slovakia has been their only one in their last five. They will fight tooth and nail all the way in this and would love to heap more pressure on England.
England v Wales Betting Odds
England 4/7, Draw 3/1, Wales 6/1
England v Wales Predictions
Wales are more than likely going to be able to keep the score down in this one. England don’t quite look to have figured out their best set up yet and Wales will scrap for every ball. They aren’t as good as England, but this is a one off shot for them to produce something big through their spirit alone. Their lack of forward output though may be their downfall and an England one goal winning margin has the most appeal.
