Michael Owen – England May Struggle v Spain in Seville
4 min read
England gained their first point of the Nations League in Rijeka on Friday, but they will enter a more hostile atmosphere in Seville on Monday night when Gareth Southgate takes his England side to meet Spain.
Spain v England
Spain have won their last four home games against England by an aggregate score of 6-0 and I feel the hosts will again have the edge against the Three Lions in Seville.
La Roja are unbeaten in their last 38 competitive home games (W34 D4) and they will be well aware of that proud record. Spain have now scored 80 times in their current 27-match unbeaten run in all competitions after putting four past Wales in Cardiff on Thursday evening.
England are without a win in their last four competitive games and only had five shots against Croatia on Friday night. It will be interesting to see if Southgate gives Jadon Sancho more than the 12 minutes he did in Croatia when his cameo was one of the few positives, although the game was played in a training ground environment.
The Three Lions have kept a clean sheet in their last four away games – summer World Cup on neutral grounds – and I don’t expect to see many opportunities for either side. That said I think the hosts will keep the points.
Tip:
Spain to win to nil 13/8
Bosnia-Herzegovina v Northern Ireland
The hosts won the reverse fixture 2-1 in Belfast last month despite having no less than 21 fewer attempts on goal than Michael O’Neill’s side.
Northern Ireland are without a win in their last five games on the road whilst Bosnia are unbeaten in their last seven in all competitions. Another game where I don’t expect to see many goals, but it is Bosnia to maintain their 1002205cef9de9b6b89ae8741f566ab7f58c50f0e39ac2a} Nations League record in Sarajevo.
Tip:
Bosnia to win and under 2.5 goals 2/1
Republic of Ireland v Wales
Ireland are without a win in their last four competitive games and they only had three shots against Denmark in a disappointing 0-0 draw on Saturday evening.
Wales put four past Ireland in the reverse fixture in Cardiff last month, but I would be surprised if there were many chances in Dublin on Tuesday and a point apiece might be the answer.
Tip:
Game to finish in a draw 2/1