England rumble into their World Cup qualifier with supposed whipping boys Andorra seeking a big win to restore some confidence in head coach Thomas Tuchel.
There were huge expectations when the former Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain boss was brought in as the successor to Gareth Southgate following a relatively pleasing spell for interim manager Lee Carsley yet so far he has underwhelmed.
It needed a 50th-minute winner from Harry Kane to beat Andorra when the two nations met at Espanyol’s Power 8 Stadium in Barcelona in June and that followed relatively flat, unconvincing performances in the 2-0 and 3-0 Wembley wins against Albania and Latvia.
Even worse was to follow when England suffered a 3-1 defeat to Senegal in a friendly at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground when Kane was again on target, scoring his 73rd goal for his country in 107 appearances.
Fans will flock to Villa Park on Saturday fuelled by dreams of a huge win but the reality is that they are probably going to suffer another painstaking performance as international routs are becoming increasingly rare for the less than savage Three Lions.
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They have only scored more than three goals once in their last 27 matches, the 5-0 Nations League victory over Ireland last November when all the goals arrived after the interval and the visitors reduced to ten men with Liam Scales sent off in the 51st minute.
That run stretches back to the 7-0 thrashing of North Macedonia in a Euro 24 qualifier in June 2023 with England promptly drawing 1-1 in the return fixture at the Filip II Arena in Skopje.
Now to kinda paraphrase a line from the bible, it would be harder for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for England to fail to qualify for next summer’s World Cup finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico and while all that really matters is the three points another dull display makes the international breaks a real slog.
England to win 3-0 is 6/1 with bet365, BoyleSports, SpreadEx and Sporting Index, Andorra +3.5 goals is 7/4 with bet365 and under 3.5 goals is 5/2 with the same firm.
Football League odds
Lincoln, who have three wins and two draws in their last five games, Mansfield, who won three before a defeat and a draw, and Cambridge and Walsall, both winners of three out of their last four, form Saturday’s Football League acca.
Horse racing odds
It may be blowing a gale and belting down with rain but it is Time For Sandals, especially if the weather eases over the next few days.
Harry Eustace’s runner can win Saturday’s Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock if the going is no worse than soft, having finished second of seven in such conditions at Chantilly in May before winning the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot and finishing just a neck and half a length when third to JM Jungle in the King George at Glorious Goodwood.
Kieran Shoemark is in the saddle for this Group One affair and the bay filly can be backed each-way with full confidence at 8/1 with Ladbrokes, Coral, William Hill and many more besides.