Euro 2016 preview and odds: England vs Wales

Published on: 15/06/2016

Euro 2016 preview and odds: England vs Wales

Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens Agglo - June 16, 2016

Group stage - Group B

England have dominated Wales in their previous 101 encounters having won 66, drawn 21 and lost just 14 times. However, they have rarely faced a Wales team of this quality and the pressure will be on Roy Hodgson`s men following their disappointing draw against Russia on Match Day One.

England under pressure

After failing to beat Russia in their opening game, England will be under pressure to secure a positive result against Wales on Thursday night. Anything other than a win could leave Roy Hodgson`s mens qualification hopes relying on other results going their way in Group B.

England won their last four games against Wales without conceding a goal, and have not been beaten by their rivals since 1984 when Mark Hughes bagged the only goal in a 1-0 win. The clubs were drawn together in the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign with England winning 2-0 at home and 1-0 away.

Wales are appearing at their first ever European Championships and will be looking to maintain their 100% win record after beating Slovakia in the first game. They were the better side for the majority of that match and fully deserved their 2-1 win. As a result, they will come into this match full of confidence and keen to get one over on their neighbours.

England can be expected to field the same side that took the lead against Russia, with Sterling perhaps the only candidate for replacement. However, fans will be hoping for a more positive attitude than the one displayed in the final 15 minutes on Saturday.

Form (all competitions):

England: DWWWL

Wales: WLLDL

Betting predictions

The atmosphere will be electric and the tackling will be hard as the two old rivals go head to head. Englands inability to successfully manage games at tournament level could once again come back to bite them against a Welsh side that has hit the ground running.

You can back the draw at 16/5 with Bet365.

By Neil Morris

Published on: 15/06/2016

Any odds displayed within this preview were correct at the time of publishing (15/06/2016 14:04:32) but are subject to change.