England v Bosnia Bet Builder Tips
England -1
England to be Winning at Half Time
Both Teams to Score? No
Ollie Watkins to Score
Bosnia to Receive the Most Cards
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England v Bosnia
International Friendly
St James’ Park, Newcastle, Monday, 7:45pm
Channel 4
The build-up to England’s Euro 2024 campaign starts on Monday with England vs Bosnia from St James’ Park. England play in the North East against a Bosnia team who missed out on the tournament. With some players in England’s preliminary squad not playing, such as Jude Bellingham who played in the Champions League final, and Luke Shaw who is still injured, it adds a fascinating question of just who will start for Gareth Southgate’s team.
England -1
It’s hard to know exactly what England team will lineup for Gareth Southgate in these friendlies, especially with an estimated 30 of the 33 players in the preliminary squad being available for this game. With that in my mind we have to really assess what we know about Southgate.
From what he’s said about some players being in that squad with an eye to the future it implies that it’s unlikely we see many, if any, debutants. We know Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw will miss out with injury but it will be the strongest defenders besides them. We’re looking to get a relatively strong England team here, with maybe six of seven of his starters playing, and if that’s the case then England should win with ease.
England to be Winning at Half Time
It’s a tough game for new Bosnia boss Sergej Barbarez and in truth his Bosnia squad isn’t the best, their best players are getting old and in the case of former Arsenal man Sead Kolasinac, injured. With 34-year old Ermin Bicakcic also injured that means two of their backline are out, something England should take advantage of early.
With Southgate starting a strong team and players wanting to cement their spots in the starting lineup for the first game of the tournament, or in the squad for some fringe names, they’ll come out of the traps quickly. There’ll be a lively atmosphere in St James’ Park and they should help England start strong.
Both Teams to Score? No
The England defence will be missing a natural left-back and one of their CBs but the back four playing in front of Jordan Pickford will still be strong. We’re likely see Man City duo Kyle Walker and John Stones, with Marc Guehi and Newcastle player Kieran Trippier.
Bosnia scored just nine goals in their 10-game Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, with four of those coming in two games against Lichtenstein, which goes some way to showing how toothless they are in attack. With 152 caps Edin Dzeko is a legend for his country but the captain is 38-years old and far from the player he was at his best.
Ollie Watkins to Score
With Harry Kane struggling with a back injury at the latter end of Bayern Munich’s season it means that Southgate will need to not only be careful with the captain’s game-time ahead of the tournament, but also make sure he knows exactly who will be his deputy if he were to miss time in Germany. That all leads to Ollie Watkins as a likely starter in this game.
He had another great season for Aston Villa in the Premier League and with 19 goals in 37 games he’s the man most likely to back up Kane. He’s never been a regular starter for England but it’s vital he gets minutes in these next two games and against Bosnia’s defence he should have a good chance to add to his three England goals.
Bosnia to Receive the Most Cards
When all is said and done this is just a Euro 2024 warm-up to these England players. They’ll want to want to win and ensure their spot in Germany, but they won’t be risking injury or suspension by throwing themselves into tackles.
That isn’t the case for Bosnia and they’ll want to impress their new manager and end their seasons in style against an England team packed with star names. That motivation, combined with the fact that they will likely be chasing the game, should mean that Bosnia pick up the most cards.
England v Bosnia Bet Builder Tips
England -1
England to be Winning at Half Time
Both Teams to Score? No
Ollie Watkins to Score
Bosnia to Receive the Most Cards
- A Bet Builder with these selections pays at approximately 5/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD TO YOUR BETSLIP.
All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
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