Serbia v England Tips
ANDREW BEASLEY’S 4 SUPER SUB SELECTIONS
Phil Foden to Score Anytime
Bukayo Saka to Have 1 or More Shots on Target in 1st Half
Aleksandar Mitrovic to Score or to be Shown a Card
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic to Commit 1 or More Fouls
These are strange times for England. The Three Lions breezed through qualifying and are Paddy Power’s favourites to win Euro 2024.
Yet they arrive in Germany on the back of just one win from their last five games. England have had similarly poor runs under Gareth Southgate in the past, but never when three of the five matches were against teams outside the top 50 in the world rankings as has just happened,
Fortunately for England, they should start the tournament with a win, as Serbia are not in great shape themselves after qualifying unconvincingly from a weak group.
With that matter settled (probably), we’ll look at four player prop bets which fall under Paddy Power’s Super Sub offer. If the man you select in eligible markets is subbed off, his replacement from the bench takes on your bet.
So all is not lost if your player’s number is on the board early doors.
Sunday, June 16 – 8pm: Serbia v England
Euro 2024 Group C match at Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen
Watch live: BBC One, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport Website/ RTE 2
Phil Foden to Score Anytime
When it comes to goals for England, it’s very much a case of Harry Kane versus everybody else. The 26-man squad Southgate has selected have collectively scored 100 goals on the international stage, with Kane having penalty kicked and tapped-in his way to 63 of them.
He is far and away the obvious choice in the goal scorer markets. I wouldn’t ever dissuade you from backing Kane in an England match, but the skinny odds reflect that. Let’s dig deeper for a little value.
Behind the Bayern Munich man in goals for the Three Lions are Bukayo Saka, with 11, and Phil Foden, with just four. Assuming both start, they should get opportunities to score here.
In Serbia’s recent 2-1 loss to Austria, the goals were scored by men in the attacking trio of their 4-2-3-1 formation, rather than centre-forward Marko Arnautovic. That bodes well for England’s second and third top scorer in their squad based on where they play.
Let’s take Foden. He’s scored for Southgate more recently than Saka, and only seven men bagged more non-penalty goals in Europe’s big five leagues this season. He was also replaced by the Arsenal winger the last time he was substituted for England, so you may end up indirectly selecting both players anyway.
Bukayo Saka to Have 1 or More Shots on Target in 1st Half
Fear not, Saka fans, we have a selection for you too (assuming he starts).
More goals are scored in the second halves of matches, as legs tire and games get stretched, with managers making tactical and personnel changes to exploit those factors. In the Premier League over the last five years, 55 per cent of goals were scored after the half time oranges had been consumed.
Yet Bukayo bucks that trend. He has scored more first half goals in each of the last three campaigns, by a combined total in league and Europe of 29 to 17. He was also England’s second top scorer in the first halves of qualifying matches for Euro 2024 and all four of his goals occurred no later than the 51st minute.
Saka springs out of the traps, so take advantage of that by backing him to have a shot on target in the first half.
Read More: Euro 2024 Wallchart | | England’s Route To Euro 2024 Final | England’s Euro 2024 Squad | Euro 2024 on TV | Euro 2024 Live Stream
Aleksandar Mitrovic to Score or to be Shown a Card
The Three Lions are looking far from watertight at the back. England have only kept three clean sheets in their last 10 games, and one of those occurred against Malta. Fitness concerns to several defenders mean Southgate may select a back four that has never started together before against the Serbs.
This is good news for Aleksandar Mitrovic. He was their top scorer in qualifying, with his five goals at least two more than any other player. If not quite so dominant as Kane, he is also comfortably the top international scorer in the Serbia squad for Euro 2024.
And if he doesn’t bag a goal, the former Fulham man could easily collect a card. Only one forward in the Saudi Pro League was booked more times than Mitrovic (five) this season, and he has twice collected seven yellow cards in Premier League campaigns. There are few strikers who like a rumble more than Mitro.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic to Commit 1 or More Fouls
The four teams in Group C had a combined total of 31 players who featured for at least 500 minutes in their qualifying campaigns. Of those that did, nobody committed fouls more frequently than Serbia’s Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, and it wasn’t even close.
His misdemeanours have not been limited to international duty. Milinkovic-Savic committed at least one foul in 19 of his 28 starts in the 2023/24 Saudi Pro League, and (looking further back) he topped Serie A for giving away free-kicks four years ago,
With England certain to dominate possession, it’s likely several Serbia players will commit fouls. The list is undoubtedly headed by Milinkovic-Savic – the midfielder, not goalkeeper – though. Sergej’s odds for a foul are very skinny but he also looks a solid gold certainty.
- FANCY A BET BUILDER? Andrew Beasley’s picks of Phil Foden to Score Anytime, Bukayo Saka to Have 1 or More Shots on Target in 1st Half, Aleksandar Mitrovic to Score or to be Shown a Card and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic to Commit 1 or More Fouls comes to around 20/1 in a Paddy Power multi.
CLICK HERE TO ADD IT 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.
Euro 2024 Betting Tips
ENGLAND V SERBIA TIPS
Phil Foden to Score Anytime
Bukayo Saka to Have 1 or More Shots on Target in 1st Half
Aleksandar Mitrovic to Score or to be Shown a Card
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic to Commit 1 or More Fouls
Get up to speed on both sides
- Serbia Squad Preview: Mitro & Co gunning for glory in Group C
- England Squad Preview: Can The Three Lions finally end 58 years of hurt?
READ MORE
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- Euro 2024 Predictor: Plot the path to glory with Paddy’s snazzy simulator
- Introducing Paddy Power’s Super Sub – where your bet rolls over if your selection goes off
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