England v Belgium betting sees Roy Hodgson get his final chances to look at players and systems before he sends out his troops against France in their first Euro 2012 match on June 11th. It just has not been a smooth ride for England in their preparations, leaving it late to name a new manager, dealing with the loss of Wayne Rooney for the opening matches, and now injuries to Gareth Barry and Frank Lampard, means that England will be without key experience in the centre of the park. So can England sign off their preparations with a win at Wembley? Well, online bookmaker Paddy Power are offering a Money Back Special for Saturday’s action.
If there are five or more goals scored in the match, then the bookie will refund all losing First Goalscorer, Last Goalscorer, Correct Score and Scorecast singles placed on the match. Will England break out in style with the forwards stepping up to claim a starting place? Will their defence be tested by Belgium? There have been some big score-lines between these two nations in the twenty times they have met before, and only once has an international friendly between these two sides failed to produce three or more goals. Paddy Power offer a free £50 bet for new customers registering an account with them.
England v Belgium Betting Odds at Paddy Power
England 4/6, Draw 29/10, Belgium 5/1
So where do England go from here? It is clear that Roy Hodgson is sticking with his 4-4-2 formation, no matter how antiquated it may be. Injuries and selection problems also means that it is not going to be too difficult to pick out a starting line up. Manchester United’s Ashley Young will probably slot alongside Andy Carroll as the front two, while in the centre of the park, the roles will go to Scott Parker and captain Steven Gerrard. The withdrawal of Chelsea’s Frank Lampard means that there really is little option to deviate from the 4-4-2. This too will still be reliant on Scott Parker’s fitness to be ready to at Poland and Ukraine 2012. There are still chances for someone to step into the wide roles, because neither James Milner or Steward Downing impressed at all in those roles against Norway in their previous friendly. So there is still room for a little experimentation, and perhaps options in Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. At least at Wembley, with home advantage, it should bring the best of the players who are trying to grab a late place. Can England deliver a grand send off and, more importantly, start breeding more confidence?
England do seem limited in most areas, and therefore a certain degree of realism needs to set in. England were poor in possession during the second half of their game in Oslo in their 1-0 win over Norway, and they will have to improve there, or they will get punished. But Hodgson looks as if he knows that England’s best chances is staying as rigid as possible in the 4-4-2 in an old fashioned workhorse performance. England don’t have the skill or the flair of the Euro 2012 favourites Spain and Germany, so they must compensate with their work rate and most of all discipline .The players did look happy sitting in their rigid formation, so that comfort zone may be a benefit to England at Euro 2012, if they can just produce a bit of creativity when they need it. Andy Carroll was praised for his involvement in the game against Norway, and Ashley Young netted the only goal. With more support coming down the flanks, especially targeting Carroll’s height, it could just be an unspectacular, but solid route that England take through Euro 2012. There is still a glimmer of optimism.
Belgium missed out on a place at Poland and Ukraine 2012, when they finished third in their qualification group behind Germany and Turkey. They did average over two goals per game though and looked a handy side, at home at least, because they only picked up one win on the road, and that was away in Kazakhstan. They bring with them Premier League stars such as Man City’s Vincent Kompany, Everton’s Marouane Fellaini and Fulham’s creative spark that is Moussa Dembele. But this is a game which England should be winning, a game in which they should be able to take command. England have only ever lost one game against Belgium, out of twenty games in total. There have been fourteen wins for England and the last time they met, was back in 1999 in Sunderland, when England ran out 2-1 winners.
Prediction: Should be worth going for an Asian Handicap on this one, with England -1 for a price of 6/5 at Paddy Power. They should be good enough to take this game, and it will be a good test for them, to see how they can break down stubborn opponents. England have averaged around 3.5 goals per game in their twenty previous meetings with Belgium.
