England v Senegal Tips: Get short of goals at City Ground | OneFootball

Internationals

England take on Senegal on Tuesday evening looking to put in a better performance than Saturday v Andorra

England lacked spark against Andorra and the goal count could be low against hard-to-beat Senegal on Tuesday night, says Dave Tindall...

England v SenegalTuesday 10 June, 19:45Live on ITV 1, STV & ITVX

England hoping to up the energy

"England have secured maximum points so far but they will be eyeing up an avalanche of goals here," said commentator Sam Matterface as The Three Lions ran out to play Andorra in Barcelona on Saturday night.

The "avalanche" turned out to be a single Harry Kane goal as England got the job done but very little more.

It represented a third straight win for new boss Thomas Tuchel but he was far from pleased. "We're not happy with the performance," he said, adding that England "lost momentum" and suffered from a "lack of urgency, lack of quality and lack of energy."

"Very hot here, dry pitch," said captain Kane although more insightful was this comment. "The June camp's never an easy camp. People coming off the back of a lot of games, long season."

Both manager and captain also drifted into "it is what it is" territory but Kane maybe has a point. The last time England played a friendly in June they lost 1-0 at home to Iceland.

Senegal a far more serious test

Senegal are clearly a step up from Andorra. If using world rankings as a guide, the former are 19th and the latter 173rd. England's other two opponents under Tuchel were against 138th-ranked Latvia (3-0) and 66th-ranked Albania (2-0).

The Lions of Teranga gave us a recent form check by playing out a 1-1 draw with the Republic of Ireland on Saturday. Kasey McAteer gave the hosts a 1-0 lead but Senegal deservedly grabbed a point through Crystal Palace's Ismaila Sarr, a second-half-substitute, eight minutes from time.

That was a significant goal as it stretched Senegal's unbeaten run to an impressive 15 games (10 wins and five draws). Their last defeat came way back in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations when losing to Ivory Coast on penalties in the last 16.

Sadio Mane won't be part of their squad for the City Ground friendly though. He's pulled out for personal reasons which seem to be being tired of recent criticisms over his national team performances.

England heavy-odds on

Head-to-head form is limited to their meeting in the 2022 World Cup when England ran out convincing 3-0 winners.

For the clash in Nottingham, England are big 1/3 favourites, with Senegal 15/2 and The Draw 4/1.

Tuchel's men look very short here and there's definite scope to lay them given that the visitors are a difficult side to beat.

I'm tempted by a pro-Senegal - or make that anti-England - bet but I'll look beyond the outright markets.

For those who do like the hosts and are impressed by their run of clean sheets, there's the option of bumping up the price by backing England to win to nil at 23/20.

Go Unders in goal markets

England have struggled to rack up goals so far under Tuchel and that was highlighted against Andorra.

As Kane says, June can be a tricky time. Players are still feeling jaded and yet also suffering a lack of rhythm having got out of the weekly groove.

When noting that Senegal's last 11 matches have witnessed three or more goals just twice, then backing Under 2.5 Goals at an odds-against price looks a valid play here.

It's 23/20 and that's the first bet. For a more ambitious price, the 12/1 for no goalscorer could prove worth having onside and offers consolation if it gets really dull!

Eze may be best goalscorer bet

Harry Kane scored his 72nd international goal from 106 England appearances when notching the winner against Andorra. He's 5/6 to add to his tally here but there's every chance he doesn't start.

Why? Tuchel will want to take a look at Ivan Toney, who was an unused sub against Andorra. The former Brentford striker has scored 30 goals in 44 matches since moving to Saudi Arabia and is [Evens] to score.

Eberechi Eze came on after 64 minutes against Andorra so will likely get the nod here. He went close with a header and is still feeling the glow of scoring the winner in the FA Cup final.

Eze scored in the 3-0 victory over Latvia and could be worth a look to score first at 11/2 and anytime at 15/8.

Now read all the rest of our match previews & best bets for the latest round of World Cup qualifiers

Recommended bets

2pts - Under 2.5 Goals @ 23/20

Staked: 87.5pts

Returned: 71.67pts

P/L: -15.83pts

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