England entertain European and World Champions Spain at a packed Wembley stadium in this friendly on Saturday evening knowing that victory would give them a huge boost ahead of Euro 2012 in Poland/Ukraine next June. However, manager, Fabio Capello will know that victory against Spain on home soil or not is no easy task which is why the Bookmakers have made the visitors the odds on favourites with Bet365 offering the best industry odds on a Spain win of 10/11. The same bookmaker quotes odds of 16/5 for an England win, while offering the draw at 12/5.
The two nations have not gone head to head too many times in the past, but in overall terms it is England who has the better record, winning 11, drawing 3 and losing 8 in the 22 matches played. The England advantage looks even stronger over the 9 matches played at home with England winning six compared to Spain’s two. The last of those Spanish victories of course in England came at Old Trafford back in 2007, which saw Spain win by 1-0 with a goal scored by midfielder, Andres Iniesta.
The latest match played between the two however, took place in Spain a couple of years ago, where England was given a footballing lesson by their hosts, who ran out easy 2-0 winners, this time with goals from David Villa and Fernando Llorente. Villa of course is Spain’s leading goalscorer who has netted 50 times in his 80 cap career, a statistic which is in stark contrast to the five England strikers selected for this match who have scored just four goals in 17 matches between them. Villa has odds of 15/4 to open the scoring on Saturday with Bet365 and is an 6/1 shot with the same bookmaker to score a brace.
Spain in fact has a terrific recent record of scoring goals, with 28 coming in their last 10 internationals and they have only failed to score once in their last 22. This ‘stat’ alone should make it worthwhile for punters to lump on the 23/20 odds available from Bet365 for over 2.5 goals in this match. Equally as impressive their goals tally is Spain’s defensive statistics with only seven goals conceded in their last ten matches; this clearly indicates that they are every bit as good without the ball as they are with it. If that is not enough to frighten England, the visitors have won nine of these ten games, all played in 2011, losing just one ‘friendly’ against Italy in August by 1-2. In their last match they proved far too good for a plucky Scotland team, winning their final Euro 2012 Group match by 3-1, with two goals from David Silva and one from Villa.
The England task has been made that much harder with the omission from the squad of Wayne Rooney and the injuries to Steven Gerrard, Jack Wilshere and Rio Ferdinand which keeps them out of action for the time being. Capello could also leave out his captain, John Terry, who, as we all know is embroiled in a ’racist slur’ controversy currently, which, should it go against him would probably end his international career.
In some respects these problems could become ‘blessings in disguise’ for Capello as it will give him an opportunity to try out a number of the younger or even the less established players at the highest level.
This could mean a start for Phil Jones of Manchester United who, should Terry not play, might find himself alongside his Manchester City rival, Joleon Lescott in the heart of England’s defence. Scott Parker and Frank Lampard look the likely pair to start in central midfield with perhaps Theo Walcott and Stuart Downing getting the wider roles. Up front it is Darren Bent who is the favourite to start but Capello is sure to give both Daniel Sturridge of Chelsea and Danny Welbeck of Manchester United a chance at some point during the match to shine. All three are capable of scoring at anytime during the match but it is Bent with odds of 13/5 available from bet365 who is the favourite in this market while Welbeck is a 3/1 chance and Sturridge 10/3.
Although only a ‘friendly’ this is still an important match for both teams with neither side wanting to lose. The odds of course favour Spain as they should, but England has plenty of ability in their ranks and can push the world champions hard. It might be that Spain still walk away from Wembley with a win, but Capello and the England fans would be happy with a big confidence building performance which they can improve upon by the time they get to Euro 2012 next June. The prediction therefore is for a 2-1 win by Spain which carries excellent odds with bet365 of 15/2.
England v Spain Form
Check the season’s statistics for both England and Spain, plus the odds ahead of Saturday’s match.
England v Spain Tips
Tip #1: Spain to win by 2-1 @ 15/2 with Bet365.com
Tip #2: David Villa to score first goal of the match @ 5/1 with Bet365.com
Tip #3: Darren Bent to Score at Anytime @ 13/5 with Bet365.com
Match Odds
10/11 Spain
12/5 Draw
16/5 England
Correct Score Odds
11/2 Draw 1-1
5/1 Spain 1-0
15/2 Spain 2-1
7/1 Spain 2-0
8/1 Draw 0-0
9/1 England 1-0
14/1 England 2-1
14/1 Spain 3-0
16/1 Spain 3-1
First Goalscorer Odds
15/4 David Villa
9/2 Fernando Torres
6/1 Fernando Llorente
8/1 David Silva
8/1 Juan Mata
8/1 Darren Bent
10/1 Bobby Zamora
10/1 Daniel Sturridge
10/1 Danny Welbeck
10/1 Gabi Agbonlahor
10/1 Andres Iniesta
Odds supplied by Bet365 who provide a variety of betting markets, including in-running betting, for all this weekend’s International matches.
Posted: Thursday, 10th November 2011
Author: Rodney Wise
Tags: wembley, england, spain, bet365,
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