England vs Greece prediction: EUROPE: UEFA Nations League – League B betting tips on match 2024-10-09 18:45.
[p]England began life after Gareth Southgate in splendid fashion, as interim manager Lee Carsley oversaw a pair of 2-0 wins to start their UEFA Nations League (UNL) Group B2 campaign. Carsley’s injection of attacking football that had subsided in the later stages of Southgate’s tenure was refreshing to see, but they looked assured in defence too, securing back-to-back clean sheets for the first time since June last year.[/p]
[p]The Three Lions players were also visibly inspired to right the wrong of being relegated from League A last campaign (D3, L3), but despite their strong start this term, they still don’t occupy the group’s top spot that guarantees automatic promotion. That position belongs to their upcoming visitors Greece, whom England should be confident of leapfrogging since they’re unbeaten in nine previous meetings (W7, D2).[/p]
[p]What a time it would be then for Greece to pick up their first victory in this H2H, but the bookmakers aren’t giving them much of a chance, perhaps due to them failing to score in seven of those previous encounters. Finding the back of the net hasn’t been a problem in their two UNL openers, which they won 3-0 and 2-0 respectively to summit Group B2. [/p]
[p]Prior to that the Greeks beat Malta 2-0 in an international friendly, meaning they’ve won three matches in a row for the first time since June 2022 at the backend of their last UNL campaign which saw them get promoted out of Group C2. Ivan Jovanović has his work cut out if he’s to prove his team are genuine contenders here, since Greece have failed to win their last six matches (D1, L5) against teams ranked higher than them according to FIFA. [/p]
[p]Players to watch: Declan Rice has been pivotal in England’s recent success, and he’s shown he’s not shy to venture forward early, since three of his four goals for his country have been match openers inside the opening 30 minutes. He’ll also have to keep an eye on the inform Fotis Ioannidis, who has seen five of his last seven goal contributions for club and country come away from home (G4, A1). [/p]
[p]Hot stat: England have failed to score before half-time in nine of their last 14 matches.[/p]
[p][i]Written by Peter Stavrinou[/i][/p]