England v Belarus Football Betting Tips

England found life difficult in the fiery atmosphere of the Ukraine. They faced being hit by flares and found it difficult to break down the tough opposition of the Ukraine. The internet-only audience saw Green sent off early in the game and that meant they were chasing from then on. Unable to score the goal despite heavy pressure throughout we unfortunately lost the game and our unbeaten record along with it.

But there were positives to be taken from the game and we now look forward to the game this Wednesday against Belarus, the final qualifier of this successful campaign. Sports betting fans were presented with a good England price for the Ukraine game, but unfortunately whilst I believe they would have won the game in normal circumstances, fate was not on their side.

For the next match England are favoured strongly by bwin.com who give them odds of 1.15 to win the match. The draw is 6.50 with Belarus priced at 17.00.

Striker Wayne Rooney has withdrawn from the game with injury and it is reported that Fabio Capello will not call another striker into the squad, instead play with two of the remaining four strikers in the squad. It would be nonsense to risk Rooney in a game that despite England wanting to win to finish the campaign on a high essentially means nothing in the context of qualification for us. Capello will, however, demand a better showing than what was offered against the Ukraine and since improvement is likely under this strict disciplinarian the football odds offered reflect the likelihood England will win.

Rio Ferdinand struggled in the game against the Ukraine. Considering Capello picks his squad based on form and appearances in the players club first team picking Ferdinand for this game was strange as he had not played that much because of injury. Capello was perhaps trying to familiarise Ferdinand and Terry further, suggesting they are his first choice central defender partnership. With our defence shaky at the moment the price on both teams to score of 2.40 may be a good bet.

England will be weakened by Rooney not playing; he was tireless in the match against the Ukraine desperately trying to forge an opening. Steven Gerrard remains with the squad despite a groin injury but he may also be missing. This could give a good chance to Michael Carrick to cement his place in Capellos squad with a good performance in the upcoming match. David James also hopes to carry on in goal after some good saves against the Ukraine; he is reported to be signing for Tottenham in the January transfer window to enhance his World Cup hopes.

England’s last match against Belarus was on 15th October 2008 away where Wayne Rooney scored twice in a 3-1 win. Steven Gerrard scored the other. It may be a cause for concern that both of these scorers will be absent from the team exactly one year on when we play our final qualifier. Fans need not worry too much however; we will be at the World Cup!

Some interesting odds on offer include England handicapped at 0-1 at 1.50 which offers some value. Frank Lampard to score first at 6.00 may be a good bet. Backing the strikers as first goalscorer in this match may be dodgy as we do not know who is going to play; it could be any combination of the remaining strikers in the squad. For England to be winning at both half and full time the odds are 1.36. They are strong favourites to be victorious in all areas of this match. I am just glad the match will be on TV as there were numerous complaints about the slow internet speed of the game. TV is where football belongs and betting on it belongs on quality sites like bwin.com.

By Malcolm Clarke