8th Sep 2013 | Football
Ukraine v England Tip
Sharing the spoils would do for the Three Lions who travel to Kiev without Rooney, Sturridge or Welbeck.
Ukraine have been in great touch lately having won their last four qualifiers, including away trips to Group H rivals Poland (1-3) and Montenegro (0-4). Meanwhile England remain unbeaten in competitive outings under Roy Hodgson, at least excluding penalties, so predicting either team to lose feels like a gamble.
That train of thought inevitably brings the draw into consideration at best odds of 23/10 (PaddyPower) but I feel we can do better than that by discounting a high-scoring contest. Ukraine have kept four clean sheets in a row when friendlies are included while England haven’t conceded more than one in any competitive match for 15 months.
It’s tempting to go for 0-0 at 17/2 (BetVictor) but I just slightly favour 1-1 at best odds of 6/1 (BetVictor). Roy Hodgson’s boys haven’t been shut-out for 13 fixtures dating back to Euro 2012 while Mykhaylo Fomenko’s team have also found the net with regularity lately.
It was 1-1 when these sides met at Wembley, as well as when England travelled to Montenegro and Poland; more of the same seems on the cards on Tuesday.
Odds correct at time of publishing: 20:06 8th Sep, 2013 but subject to change
