The process of eliminating the poorer sides in Euro 2016 is underway, although with just 8 sides being eliminated after the group stages, teams can still play ridiculously badly but still make it through. England travel to St Etienne this evening to face a Slovakia side, buoyed by their victory over Russia. Both nations harbour ambitions to qualify from the group, with Group B looking likely to provide a best third placed team.
England are currently sat in first place in the group, and are still favourites to win it at 1/5, but anything less than a victory this evening takes it out of their hands. A victory would see the Three Lions take on a third-placed side in the last 16, whilst a second place finish in the group would ensure a tougher route to the final. Roy Hodgson is reportedly set to gamble on his selection this evening, including dropping/resting Wayne Rooney. Rooney has been England’s most influential player in the tournament so far and scored twice when England last played Slovakia in 2009. He’s priced at 13/5 to score this evening if he features in the game. Jamie Vardy and Daniel Sturridge are also set to replace Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling respectively. Sturridge was the hero against Wales with the late goal, and is backed at 4/1 to score first tonight. Although he was culpable for Gareth Bale’s goal from the free kick, Joe Hart will be looking to bounce back with a solid display, and he’s backed at evens to keep a clean sheet.
Prior to the tournament, Slovakia were seen by many as the worst team in this group. Luckily for them, Russia have taken that title, but Slovakia have played some decent football and have surprised many. Napoli’s Marek Hamsik is not an unknown quantity to European fans and he’s been involved in four goals in their last three games. He’s their most likely goal scoring threat and odds of 9/2 on him to score anytime are available. Their other threat comes in the form of former Manchester City player Vladimir Weiss. He’s a good player and would almost certainly be taken more seriously if he wasn’t playing in Qatar. He caused havoc with the Russian defence and is backed at 12/1 to score first.
Match Prediction
Hodgson is expected to name up to 6 changes to his team tonight. The number of changes made signifies that he might think that the job is done and that he can rotate. An England win, priced at 20/23 is a must for this team. 7 of England’s 8 goals against Slovakia have been scored after the 60th minute and odds of a goal scored after this period are at 7/4. Slovakia will fancy tonight’s game though, particularly with England’s defensive deficiencies and they’re backed at 17/4 to win. England to win, with both sides scoring is more likely though and can be found at 4/1.