UEFA Nations League
Saturday 8th September 2018
Kick off at 7.45pm BST
Venue: Wembley Stadium
Match Preview:
Will International matches ever be the same again? Because it is all change in Europe with the introduction of the UEFA Nations League which kicks off this weekend. A competition format has been drafted in to replace what many fans thought were meaningless friendly games and if nothing else it should see more competitive matches without 11 substitutions each game.
England will play their first ever Nations game on Saturday when they take on Spain, following this England will play Croatia in November, in what looks like being a very difficult and tight group.
The opening match will take place at Wembley Stadium and currently the bookmakers can’t spilt the teams. This will be the first time that England manager Gareth Southgate will have been able to meet up with his squad since the Three Lions lost to Belgium to come 4th at this summers World Cup- their best finish since 1990.
For Spain they had a disappointing tournament when they were knocked out at the round of 16 stage to hosts Russia on penalties. This match will be Luis Enrique’s first game in charge of the national side after he took one year off after the Barcelona job.
England vs Spain Team News:
England - Adam Lallana will miss this match and the Switzerland game after suffering a groin strain. Raheem Sterling is out after a back injury. Luke Shaw has been recalled in place of Ashley Young. Forward Jamie Vardy has announced his international retirement
Spain - Diego Costa is out because of personal reasons. Jordi Alba has been dropped by Enrique
England vs Spain Head to Head:
The last time the teams played at Wembley was in 2016 where the match finished 2-2.
Spain have not beaten England in the capital since 1981 and that has been the only time in 9 games.
5 of the last 6 matches have ended in under 2.5 goals.
England vs Spain Prediction:
Both teams will be competitive here. England, as it’s their first game at home since the World Cup, and Spain to prove a point with Enrique the new manager at the helm. Also the friendly element has been abandoned and both teams will be taking this game seriously.
On a technical level there is a big difference between the two teams but England will raise their game and give everything to get some points in this first match and they have a decent record at least at home. But it wouldn’t be a surprise to see this game start off slow and build intensity in the second half, and that is why we fancy more goals to occur the later the game goes on as our main bet.
England vs Spain Betting Tips:
Highest scoring half: 2nd half at 2.10
Under 2.5 goals at 1.57
© Copyright topfootballtipster.com 2019
