Wales v England: First Goalscorer Tip

The case for Wales defying the odds against England is withering by the day. The withdrawal of star man Gareth Bale with injury looks like a hammer blow to his nation’s hopes. It’s not that Capello’s side are anything special, but they do tend to get the job done in qualifying, and they face a side bottom of the group without a point to their name.  Wales have only scored once in the entire campaign thus far and it’s because of this that the first goalscorer market looks like a case of picking the right Englishman.

Wayne Rooney will always head this list and at 4/1 he is priced about right. His form has improved of late but he is still so often a man who doesn’t score even when he plays well. His fledgling partnership with Hernandez at Man Utd looks promising but is currently resulting in more goals for his strike partner. On Saturday he will probably be paired alongside Andy Carroll and it’s far too soon to say how that combination will work.

As for the new Liverpool striker it seems like a risk to start him when he is recently back from injury and has so little experience for his country. Carroll is yet to score for his new club, but a first goal for England, to break the deadlock is priced at 6/1 with VictorChandler.  I’m yet to be fully convinced by the ex-Newcastle man’s international credentials so I’ll avoid that bet along with punts on Defoe, Bent (both 11/2) or Crouch (5/1), who are uncertain of time on the pitch.

The value bet, and my tip for first goalscorer is Frank Lampard at 7/1 with SkyBet. Back among the goals for Chelsea recently, he also has the benefit of being England’s penalty taker. With Steven Gerrard missing, he is both the senior midfielder in the side and potentially more free to make frequent forays into the Welsh penalty area. With his price nearly twice as long as Rooney’s, Lampard gets the nod.