England v Slovakia: Three Lions to take a step closer on the road to Russia

ADAM Goodwin (@agjournalism) shares his betting views on Monday night's World Cup qualifying clash between England and Slovakia.

England v Slovakia | Monday 4th September 2017, 19:45 | ITV

The top two in Group F will go head-to-head at Wembley on Monday night, with both teams looking to continue their good World Cup qualifying form.

Liverpool’s Adam Lallana scored an injury-time winner in the reverse fixture in Slovakia, and although it might not have seemed like an important goal back in September, it certainly does now.

England

England’s 4-0 win against Malta on Friday night was far from convincing. The Three Lions looked lacklustre and struggled to break down a team that contained players who predominantly played in the Maltese Premier League.

England scored three goals beyond the 85th minute, one of which was a dreadful goalkeeping error, and if it wasn’t for the Malta players practically surrendering towards the end of the game, the scoreline would have been a lot less convincing.

England are unbeaten in World Cup qualifiers at the new Wembley, and the last time they lost one was all the way back in the year 2000, when they defeated 1-0 by Germany thanks to a Dietmar Hamann goal.

This bodes well for the Three Lions, because they certainly can’t lose this one.

Slovakia

So far, Slovakia’s only two defeats in Group F have come thanks to 85th and 90th minute goals. They were more than competitive in these games against Scotland and England, and were unfortunate to lose them both. This is something that will give them confidence heading into this huge game at Wembley.

The Falcons record against England isn’t great. They’ve lost four and drawn one in their last five games in this fixture, conceding nine and scoring two.

But this is arguably the best crop of Slovakian players in a long time, with the likes of Marek Hamsik, Vladimir Weiss and captain Martin Skrtel in the squad. Slovkaia certainly won’t be pushovers.

The betting angles

If Slovakia can win this match, they’ll leapfrong England and move into first in Group F, so it’s a game of massive importance for both sides.

I can see a cagey affair, but I feel England’s squad just has that extra bit of quality that can get them the three points.

I tipped this same bet on Friday and, if it wasn’t for the flurry of late England goals, it would’ve been a winner. So, I’m going to back England to win and Under 3.5 Goals again at evens with BoyleSports.