UEFA Nations 2020 League Iceland v England Preview & Predictions

UEFA Nations League 2020 – 21, Group A2 – Iceland v England Preview – Laugardalsvollur, Reykjavík – September 5, 2020 – 17:00hrs BST

An exciting match lies in store as England visit Iceland for their opening fixture of the second edition of the UEFA Nations League at Reykjavik on September the 5th.

Gareth Southgate's Three Lions are in group 2 of League A which also consists of Belgium and Denmark. In such a tough cluster, getting off to a good start will be of paramount importance if one has to progress to the finals of the competition.

England won 2 of their 4 Group matches, managed a draw and lost the other one, thus qualifying for the next round.

They lost in the semi-finals to the Netherlands 3-1 and finished third in the tournament after defeating Switzerland 6-5 on penalties in the 3rd place playoffs.

Iceland v England Betting Offers

Iceland by contrast did not have the greatest of runs in the tournament last year. They finished at the bottom of Group 2 of League A below Switzerland and Belgium, losing all their four games in the cluster.

So, the Icelanders will be desperate to make amends against quite a formidable English side on Saturday.

Iceland v England recent form

• Southgate's men are in great form at the international level having won 4 and lost just 1 of their last 5 games and also hammering in as many as 24 goals in the process.
• Iceland also have proved to be a hard team to beat of late, winning 4 and drawing in one of their previous 5 international fixtures.

The English attack will be spearheaded by Harry Kane who has a fantastic record of 32 goals from his 45 appearances for the Three Lions. He will be assisted by two formidable young players in the wings, viz. Jadon Sancho and Raheem Sterling.

Sancho shone in the Bundesliga with his performance for Borussia Dortmund where he had 17 goals and 16 assists in 32 matches last season.

Sterling on the other hand was the star performer for Manchester City in the Premier League with 20 goals this season. He has 12 goals for England and is expected to make an impact in Reykjavík and the matches going ahead.

Although bereft of such profile names, Iceland do have a Premier League star in them in the form of Gylfi Sigurdsson who plays for Everton.

Sigurdsson is not just vital in the mid-field for the Icelanders but has also scored 22 times for them. Their defense under the stewardship of veteran R Sigurdsson (who has 94 caps) has been solid and have conceded only one goal in their last 5 games.

But against a rampaging English attack that could be severely tested.

Southgate’s starting XI could include the likes of Ross Barkley, Harry Winks, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Mason Mount in the midfield while Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, Kieran Trippier and Kyle Walker could make up the back four.

The game is mostly expected to take place in the Icelandic half with the Three Lions expected to have most of the possession. The hosts on the other hand will be expected to sit deep, which is likely to open up space around the edge of the area and create opportunities for the English to score.

Iceland v England Predictions & selected Odds

England are the overwhelming online bookmakers‘ favourites at 3/10, while Iceland can be backed to cause the unexpected at 10/1. A draw is going at 4/1. (all Bet365 odds and subject to change, correct as of 02/09/2020)

Anytime Goalscorer odds

Bet365 odds and subject to change, correct as of 02/09/2020.

Harry Kane: 4/6

Raheem Sterling: 6/5 (Recommended bet)

Marcus Rashford: 6/5 (WilliamHill – odds subject to change)

Jadon Sancho: 15/8

Correct Score odds

Bet365 odds and subject to change, correct as of 02/09/2020.

England 1-0: 5/1

England 3-0: 6/1

England 2-1: 8/1

Draw 1-1: 9/1

England 3-1: 11/1 (predicted score line Bet365)

England 4-1: 20/1 (predicted score line Bet365)

Iceland 1-0: 25/1

Draw 2-2: 28/1

Iceland 2-1: 40/1

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