England v Nigeria Betting Tips & Odds
In our England v Nigeria betting preview we look at the best possible bets between the two sides.
Overview
Clubs football is over and the World Cup squads have been announced, the World Cup is almost upon us. Leading up to the World Cup teams are presented with the opportunity to play warm up games. England have taken full advantage of this and will be playing their first game against Nigeria on Saturday. Gareth Southgate will be looking to put his style of play and ideas into practice here. Nigeria are unknown by most with only a few players applying their trade in the Premier League. Both teams will be hoping for a win on Saturday to build momentum for the upcoming World Cup.
England manager Gareth Southgate has plenty of experience with tournament football with the under 21s
England hoping to build momentum
The World Cup warm up games provide managers a great opportunity to test things out for the actual tournament. There is nothing riding on this game and Gareth Southgate will be looking to give all the players in the squad a good run out and game time. The squad are back in training and Southgate will already have a good idea of who will be starting England’s first game against Tunisia. However, it is unlikely that the Liverpool players will get much time on the pitch as they recover from the Champions League final. Southgate will make numerous changes during the game to test out certain scenarios that may occur at the tournament with winning not being the biggest priority. Winning will of course be the aim to get into the right mentality but these warm up games can be very useful to try different things.
The expectation for England’s chances at the World Cup are relatively low with poor performances at the last few major tournaments. The Southgate starting eleven is pretty clear with a decision to be made in some key positions. It is expected he will go with the 3-5-2 that he finished the qualification phase with. This means playing Kyle Walker at centre back and games like this will be good fro him to adjust to this position. Harry Kane will be expected to lead the line but with both Marcus Rashford and Jamie Vardy in the squad Southgate will have options off the bench. Gareth Southgate has a lot of experience with the under 21’s at tournament football and will know what is expected on Saturday.
Jordan Henderson and the other Liverpool players could be rested for this game
Young Nigerian side high in confidence
Nigeria have the lowest average aged squad going to the World Cup but are full of talent. They’re ranked as low as 47th in the FIFA rankings. However, this team should not be underestimated because they’ve got nothing to lose. Despite being ranked so low they made it all the way to the final of the African Cup of Nations in February, losing to Morocco. They’ve had a taste of tournament football are will be feeling confident going into the World Cup. A positive tournament this year and keeping the core group of players together could put Nigeria in good stead for Qatar 2022 where the climate is more friendly. The Nigerian squad will be relatively unknown by most fans coming into the World Cup.
Four players currently apply their trade in the Premier League, Victor Moses, Alex Iwobi, Wilfred Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho. All of these players play a key role in the national side and will likely feature against England. National pride is high in this Nigerian team and it brings the best out of the players. They play an attacking brand of football with a lot of pace in the side. Ahmed Musa is another player England fans will be aware of and despite his failure to impress is the Premier League will be a danger. The main position they are lacking is a goalkeeper. Lille keeper Vincent Enyeama was the No.1 for a long time but retired from international football in 2015. This gave Carl Ikeme the opportunity but he unfortunately is currently fighting leukaemia but has been given a honorary spot in the squad. Nineteen year old Francis Uzoho is the current No.1 but has struggled for games for Deportivo LA Coruna this season so is untested.
Victor Moses is a key player for Nigeria
Recommended Bets:
England and BTTS to win: (Best Priced at 11/4 with skybet) – BET HERE
Goal in both halves: (Best Priced at 10/11 with coral) – BET HERE
Harry Kane to score anytime: (Best Priced at 10/11 with bet365) – BET HERE
Check out the rest of our tips, predictions and international betting previews
The post England v Nigeria Betting Tips & Odds – 02/06/18 appeared first on Footy Accumulators.