✅England vs Greece
🆕UEFA Nations League, KO: 19:45 Oct 10, 2024, Wembley Stadium
⚽✅England go head-to-head against Greece on Thursday. Read our Predictions and Betting Tips with Match Preview, Head-to-head stats (h2h) and Team Form Analysis.
Our prediction for this Nations League match:
Buoyed by back-to-back wins over Ireland and Finland, England will be aiming to retain top position in the standings when they take on Greece at Wembley Stadium. The Three Lions aim to get their job done in Group 2 as soon as possible and they are likely to adopt an attack-oriented approach in Thursday’s clash. Tottenham striker Dominic Solanke returns to the squad following a seven-year absence, with the likes of Bukayo Saka, Harry Kane, and Jack Grealish making the cut as well. Real Madrid ace Jude Bellingham returns to the starting XI after missing out against Finland with injury.
The Greeks, on the other hand, made a promising start to their Nations League campaign, beating both Finland and Ireland without conceding. Preventing England stars from finding the net at Wembley Stadium, though, is easier said than done. Therefore, we predict that the visitors are going to return home with their hands empty. All Tsimikas, Tzolis, Siopis, Konstantelias, Koulierakis, and Zafeiris are only one yellow card away from suspension, speaking of the visiting team.
How the bookies view it: England to avoid Greek tragedy
As expected, England are short-priced 1/4 favourites with Jililuck to make it three wins on the bounce in Nations League Group B2.
Greece are a towering 19/2 to triumph on Jililuck, while an all square affair in the English capital is also considered unlikely at 4/1 with the same bookmaker.
Head to head: England out to extend unbeaten record
England have avoided defeat in each of their previous nine meetings with Greece, triumphing on seven occasions. The two nations last crossed paths in a friendly fixture way back in 2006, with the Three Lions strolling to a 4-0 success.
England vs Greece Prediction
England made a solid start to their life under Lee Carsley’s management with a pair of 2-0 wins. Those wins came against defense heavy teams like Ireland and Finland.
The Greeks are coming to this match in flying colours as well after 3-0 and 2-0 wins against Greece and Ireland. However, they have a poor record while coming against the three lions and suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat in the last meeting in 2006,
England could shift gears here with their key players enjoying solid runs with their respective clubs. We can take England to win by a 2 plus goal margin along with correct score 4-0 as best bets for this Nations League fixture.
Players to watch: Kane to KO Greece?
Harry Kane netted twice on his 100th appearance for England against Finland last month. The Three Lions skipper stands out a even-money (1/1) on Phmacao to extend his record goal scoring tally for his country on Thursday night.
Konstantinos Tsimikas – who could be up against Bukayo Saka – is an eye-catching even-money (1/1) on Wjpeso to commit two or more fouls on Thursday night. The Greek left-back has fallen foul of the referee twice in each of his last two appearances for Liverpool.
Highlighted Player (Harry Kane):
Widely regarded as one of England’s best strikers at the moment, Harry Kane enjoyed a meteoric rise at Tottenham Hotspur, scoring 21 Premier League goals during the 2014/2015 campaign to be voted PFA Young Player of the Year.
The highly rated striker went on to surpass that achievement the following season as he helped Tottenham Hotspur mount a serious title challenge for the first time in club’s recent history and he made seamless transition to international football. Kane scored four goals in his first ten appearances for England to prove he was here to stay and at the same time established himself as a first choice striker in Roy Hodgson’s squad ahead of the Euro 2016 finals.
Kane is a modern striker, who is extremely dangerous in the opposition box, but it was some outstanding goals from distance as well as link-up play with teammates that earned him an excellent reputation in world football. Kane is expected to lead both Tottenham and England in years to come, that is if he can resist the lure of top European clubs that continue to cast admiring glances his way.
Highlighted Team (Greece):
Former European champions Greece played their first official match on April 7, 1929, with the team suffering a heavy 4-1 loss to Italy in Athens. The Greeks booked their place at the FIFA World Cup finals in 1994 for the first time ever, but they failed to impress at the showpiece tournament in United States of America.
The Galanolefki were eliminated in the group stages of the 2010 FIFA World Cup as well, but they made it to the knockout stages of the tournament in Brazil four years later. However, the Greeks were more than unfortunate not to book their place in the quarter-finals as they were beaten by Costa Rica on penalties. However, Greece did remarkably well to win the 2004 European Championship and that is considered the national team’s biggest success.
Otto Rehhagel outplayed the likes of France and Czech Republic in the knockout stages to set up a meeting with hosts Portugal in the title game. Thanks to Angelos Charisteas’ goal 12 minutes into the second half Greece won the European Championship.
Predicted line-ups
England will be without Ezri Konsa, Kobbie Mainoo and Morgan Gibbs-White, all of whom are ruled out due to injury. Captain Harry Kane is nursing a knock but he is hoping to be passed fit for Thursday’s game with Greece.
Greece will be without forward Fotis Ioannidis through injury. The Panathinaikos attacker notched up three strikes across Greece’s first two Nations League games.
England: Pickford; Alexander-Arnold, Guehi, Colwill, Lewis; Rice, Bellingham; Saka, Palmer, Gordon; Kane
Greece: Vlachodimos; Rota, Mavropanos, Koulierakis, Tsimikas; Siopis, Kourbelis; Masouras, Bakasetas, Tzolis; Pavlidis
