All articles by: Elliott Jackson

England vs Spain – Match Preview

by ·Comments Off on England vs Spain – Match Preview

England vs Spain
Saturday 8th September 2018
UEFA Nations League – Group A 4, Wembley Stadium

Live on Sky Sports Football, Kick-Off: 19:45 GMT

England vs Spain: England take on Spain in the first match of their UEFA Nations League group in their first match since their World Cup exploits.

Gareth Southgate’s side welcome Spain to Wembley, having unusually outperformed their Spanish counterparts at the most recent major tournament. With that in mind, Southgate has made five changes to his side with Alex McCarthy, Joe Gomez, James Tarkowski, Luke Shaw and Adam Lallana all included in the original squad. Lallana, however, will miss both games through injury, in addition to Raheem Sterling, who is also injured. The major news was Jamie Vardy’s decision to retire from international football, whilst Gary Cahill and Ashley Young’s time in a Three Lions jersey looks all but over.

Southgate has always been an advocate of building for the future, so replacing Cahill with Tarkowski and Young with his Manchester United teammate Shaw makes sense. Gomez has also made a fine start to the new season, and probably would have featured in Russia had he not picked up an injury which ruled him out. Given Gomez’s impressive form, it’ll be interesting to see if he’ll slot into the right-centre-back role, which Kyle Walker filled last summer. That could mean Walker, or more likely, Kieran Trippier missing out, despite being one of England’s brightest players.

Luis Enrique has taken over a much-changed Spain squad, with Gerard Pique, David Silva and Andreas Iniesta all retiring after their penalty shoot-out defeat to Russia. The former Barcelona boss has left out Jordi Alba and Koke, but included Jose Gaya, Paul Lopez and Dani Ceballos, who are all uncapped. Diego Costa will miss the match for personal reasons, with Alvaro Morata expected to lead the line in his absence. England will need to watch out for Isco, who has made a great start to the season for Real Madrid, having starred in Russia last summer.

Danny Makkelie is the referee for this game. The Dutchman plies his trade in the Eredivisie and has officiated three games this season, accumulating an average of 1.33 cards per match. Therefore, I would advise a maximum of 30+ total booking points for this game.

Spain are a team in transition; they have a new manager and a lot of new players. They are, however, an incredibly talented group, with the capabilities of beating any team on their day. England will look to hit them on the counter-attack, using the pace of Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard.

Although it is hard to gauge just how competitive this match will be, I think Southgate will be desperate for a strong performance – therefore, I’m going to plump for a score draw.

England vs Spain will be televised live in the UK on Sky Sports Football with kick off at 19:45 GMT.

Prediction: England 1-1 Spain

Suggested Tips – England vs Spain – (SKYBET)

  • Correct score: Draw 1-1 – 9/2.
  • First Goalscorer: Harry Kane – 10/3.
  • Both Players to score – Isco and Alli to both score – 20/1.
  • Correct Score Group Betting – Spain to win 1-0, 2-0 or 2-1 – 5/2.

Odds and markets last updated on 8th September 2018 @14:40 GMT.

Keep visiting the tips and preview area for further updates and betting previews for more previews from the International break this week. We also have domestic fixtures returning at the end of the week so keep an eye on those previews in the tips and preview area.

Scotland vs Belgium – Match Preview

by ·Comments Off on Scotland vs Belgium – Match Preview

Scotland vs Belgium
Friday 7th September 2018
International Friendly, Hampden Park

Live on Sky Sports Football, Kick-Off: 19:45 GMT

Scotland vs Belgium – the visitors face Scotland at Hampden Park in their first match since finishing third at last summer’s FIFA World Cup.

Belgium take on Scotland in the first of their international doubleheader, before facing Iceland in their first UEFA Nations League game. Roberto Martinez will be without Kevin De Bruyne and Adnan Januzaj, who are the only two injured absentees from their World Cup squad. Former Newcastle goalkeeper Matz Sels and Christian Benteke have both been recalled to the squad. There are first call-ups for Atalanta’s Timothy Castagne, Club Brugge’s Hans Vanaken, Gent midfielder Birger Verstraete and Genk forward Leandro Trossard.

After finishing third at last summer’s World Cup, Roberto Martinez’s sights are firmly set on EURO 2020. Like so many nations, Belgium will be increasingly concerned that their ‘golden generation’ is yet to secure a trophy. We have seen England fail despite having their most talented crop of players; the same can be said for Croatia, although they did reach the World Cup final. It’s vital Belgium pick up a trophy in the next four years, to avoid being branded as another talented but trophy-less nation.

Scotland will be hoping to get off to a good start in their EURO2020 qualifying campaign by building momentum against Belgium. The Scots also face Albania in their first UEFA Nation League match on Monday. Andrew Robertson has been named as the new captain for Scotland, following in a long line of influential names. They will be without Swansea striker Oli McBurnie for this game, who has been ruled out through injury. Steven Naismith now of Hearts is his replacement, whilst there are is also a spot for his uncapped teammate, John Souttar.

Luca Banti is the referee for Friday’s game. The Italian referee plies his trade in Serie A, although he has only officiated one match this season. In that game, he didn’t brandish a card; therefore I would recommend a maximum of 20-30+total booking points for this game.

Belgium won’t be at their World Cup level, they’re one of the best team’s in the world. As a result, I fancy them to get a comfortable result, although Scotland won’t just roll over.

Scotland vs Belgium will be televised live in the UK on Sky Sports Football with kick-off at 19:45 GMT.

Prediction: Scotland 0-2 Belgium

Suggested tips – Scotland vs Belgium – (BET365):

  • Correct score: Belgium to win 2-0 – (link no longer available).
  • Belgium to win to nil – (link no longer available).

Suggested tips – Scotland vs Belgium – (SKYBET):

  • Player to Score a Brace – Lukaku to score a brace – 4/1.
  • To Score and Win – Hazard to score and win – 2/1.
  • Both Players to score – Romelu Lukaku and Dries Mertens – 4/1. (NAP).
  • Scorecast Boost – Marouane Fellaini to score first and Belgium to win 2-1 – 80/1.

Odds and markets last updated on 7 September 2018 @15:50 GMT.

Keep visiting the tips and preview area for further updates and betting previews for more previews from the International break this week. We also have domestic fixtures returning at the end of the week so keep an eye on those previews in the tips and preview area.

Cardiff City vs Arsenal – Match Preview

by ·Comments Off on Cardiff City vs Arsenal – Match Preview

Cardiff City vs Arsenal
Sunday 2nd September 2018
FA Premier League, Cardiff City Stadium

Live on Sky Sports Main Event – Kick-Off: 13:30 GMT

Cardiff vs Arsenal – The Gunners take a trip to the Welsh capital looking to build on last week’s victory against West Ham as they take on winless Cardiff City.

Unai Emery claimed his first victory as Arsenal manager with a 3-1 win against the Hammers at the Emirates. It was far from plane sailing for the Gunners, though, as West Ham took an early lead through Marco Arnautovic. Despite the win, it once again highlighted Arsenal’s vulnerability at the back, especially given Emery’s desire for his backline to hold a high line. Neither Shkodran Msutafi or Sokratis Papastathopoulos possesses great pace and this tactic leaves the pair exposed to attackers running in behind them.

The big talking point of the week has been Mesut Ozil’s absence from the win last week. The German was controversially substituted in Arsenal’s 3-2 defeat to Chelsea the week before and then missed this game due to illness. There has been a lot of talk as to whether Ozil fits Emery’s desired high intensity, high pressing system. Whilst he may be one of the most talented individuals at the Emirates, these are still huge question marks over his long-term future.

Cardiff have endured a difficult start back to life in the top flight. They have just two points to their name after drawing against Newcastle and Huddersfield in their last two matches. It’s pretty evident that their home form will be key if they are to have any chance of survival, but Neil Warnock’s side need to get the monkey off their back sooner rather than later. Goals appear to be the main concern for the Bluebirds, with Kenneth Zohore, Gary Madine and Danny Ward unproven at this level.

Anthony Taylor is the referee for this match. The Englishman has an average booking points total of 30 from his first three league matches. Therefore, I would suggest a maximum of 40+total booking points for this game.

Arsenal are very much a side in transition. There will be many more dark days before they can consistently perform well with Emery’s style; he needs to be given time. That being said, I would still expect them to win at the weekend. Cardiff will be resolute in defence but lack any real firepower to hurt the Gunners.

Cardiff City vs Arsenal will be televised live in the UK on Sky Sports Main Event with kick off at 13:30 GMT.

Prediction: Cardiff City 0-2 Arsenal

Suggested Tips – Cardiff City vs Arsenal – (BET365)

  • Correct Score Arsenal win 2-0 – (link no longer available).
  • Arsenal to win to nil – (link no longer available).

Suggested Tips – Cardiff City vs Arsenal – (SKYBET)

  • First Goalscorer – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 11/4.
  • Both Players to score – Ramsey and Welbeck – 7/1.

Odds and markets last updated on Sunday 2 September @9:32 GMT. Keep checking back to see if there’s any updates to markets – the time stamp in the previous sentence for when we update tips on this page will be updated.