England Vs Republic of Ireland
England Vs Republic of Ireland Thursday 12th November 2020 – 20:00 Kick-Off
International Friendly
Pick: England Win To Nil
Odds: 23/20
Bookmaker: BetVictor
(All betting odds correct at time of writing: 10th November 2020)
Preview: With one eye on their forthcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures, England and Ireland meet at Wembley with the sole aim of securing a win that would set them up nicely for more pressing tasks ahead. It will be the first meeting in England since a 2013 friendly encounter produced a 1-1 draw.
International Friendly Betting at Bet365
Table of Contents
England Preview – Plenty to prove after Danish defeat?
The Three Lions step up preparations for their upcoming Nations League fixtures with Belgium and Iceland, both of which are must win encounters if England, currently third in the group, wish to progress to the latter stages for a second successive campaign, by testing themselves against Ireland at Wembley. Gareth Southgate will therefore hope to rebuild confidence with victory here, ahead of Sunday’s trip to Belgium.
On their latest competitive outing, in last month’s 1-0 Nations League defeat at Wembley to Denmark, critics did not hold back in their damning assessment of a performance which underwhelmed to say the least. The statistics suggest England were equal to the Danes, however, it was clear to all those watching that the hosts never looked like scoring. Even more so once Harry Maguire was dismissed in the first half.
Since then Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kalvin Phillips and Danny Ings have picked up knocks that make them unavailable to Southgate, who must also do without the suspended Reece James after his late red card in the loss to Denmark. The latter halting England’s nine game winning streak at home having impressively beaten the world’s number one ranked side, Belgium, 2-1 at Wembley only three days earlier.
Ireland Preview – Toothless attack could flounder at Wembley?
Confidence is at a low ebb in the Ireland camp following a run of six games without a win (D4 L2 when excluding extra-time and penalties). Among them a gut-wrenching defeat on penalties to Slovakia, leaving Irish hopes of featuring at next summer’s European Championship in ruins. Unfortunately for Ireland manager Stephen Kelly, who is still without a win since taking charge in April, more misery could lie ahead.
A miserable 2020, which has seen Ireland fail to win any of their five matches with Bulgaria, Finland (twice), Slovakia and Wales, could be compounded further still should The Boys in Green not produce in their next three encounters. The least significant of that trio is Thursday’s friendly in England, against whom they have drawn five successive meetings with all but one producing 1-1 scorelines.
This is because next week could see them demoted from League B of this season’s Nations League. Ireland are third in Group B4 having registered two points from four fixtures (D2 L4), scoring only once. Sunday, meanwhile, sees Stephen Kelly take his beleaguered side to Wales, currently top of the section, before what could be a potential relegation decider at home to Bulgaria next Wednesday.
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England Vs Ireland Betting Advice
The past five encounters between these two countries have produced stalemate, four of which ending 1-1, with the most recent a rather forgettable goalless affair at the Aviva Stadium over in Ireland in June 2015. The latter would also rather forget about some of their recent results, which have been very poor, with their sole win across their previous nine internationals (W1 D5 L3) coming at home to New Zealand.
England Vs Ireland – Key Facts:
- Prior to last month’s 1-0 Nations League defeat to Denmark, England had won nine consecutive home games, six of which were without conceding a goal.
- Six matches without registering victory for Ireland (D4 L2 excluding extra-time and penalties), failing to find the back of the opposing team’s net in each of the last four.
- Each of the last five head-to-head encounters have ended in a draw, with four of those coming via a 1-1 scoreline.
With Ireland shaping up as no threat whatsoever – the visitors are without a win in six having failed to score in their last four – this should be about as straightforward as it gets for England. Furthermore, both will feel they have bigger fish to fry in the coming days. Naturally, England are too short to back outright, but both a modest victory (England & Under 3.5 Goals is 21/20 with Betway) and Win To Nil appeal.
Best Betting Odds – England Vs Ireland
England – 1/3 (Bet365)
Draw – 17/4 (Betway)
Ireland – 10/1 (Unibet)
