England will take on Malta on Friday, 16th June at 7.45 pm BST. It’s the third matchday of the 2024 European Championships qualification. England have a perfect record so far with two wins from two games played and just 1 goal conceded. Malta, meanwhile, are bottom of the group with two defeats from two. Scoring just one. I take a full look at the match and offer my expert football tips below.
Marcolini’s Men Facing Uphill Battle to Qualify
Perhaps Malta didn’t think they could qualify pre-tournament anyway but they’re going to find it near impossible if they can’t win this match. Michele Marcolini’s side have lost to both Italy (2-0) and, more disappointed for them, North Macedonia (2-1). Since those two matches, they’ve won a friendly against Luxembourg 1-0. 5 days ago. It’s likely more about pride for Malta after losing that key match to North Macedonia.
Whilst Malta are not the greatest team or the most attacking team, they rarely get thrashed and that shows in the fact they have not conceded more than 2 goals in their last 12 matches. That’s something to keep in mind when thinking that perhaps England could steamroll them here. With that being said, there is a huge difference in class between the two teams.
Southgate Well-Set to Qualify Again
England face Malta here and then face North Macedonia a few days later. You would have to think that by that time, England will likely be all but qualified and sitting on 12 points and 4 wins from 4 games. Head coach Gareth Southgate has a strong squad and there is a nice mixture of players that will be wanting to show him what they can do.
England have beaten Italy and Ukraine already and are backed to go on from here and top the group. England are 81 places above Malta in the FIFA rankings and that can only spur on the likes of record-breaking striker Harry Kane to go and grab a couple of goals and extend that record further. England have a fantastic record in European qualifications, which now stretches to 19 wins from their last 20 European qualification matches.
Head-to-Head Meetings
England are unbeaten against Malta. They’ve won each of the five previous head-to-head matches. The most recent was a 4-0 win at the 2018 World Cup qualifiers back in 2017. The Three Lions did win 5-0 back in 1971 but in general, as mentioned, Malta rarely gets stuffed.
Malta vs England Betting Tips
I think England win this, of course, and likely also to nil. It’s hard to find any real value in a match where England is facing minnows. The two bets that I’ll be taking are England to win the 1st half and score over 1.5 goals. I think England will come out of the blocks strong and score a couple in the first half. Then perhaps a bit later they may swap a few players around and rotate. I have a feeling for 3-0 in this match and I’ll also have a small bet on that scoreline.
England (HT Result) and Over 1.5 Goals Scored @ 10/11 with Paddy Power promo code
England to Win 3-0 @ 9/2 with Bet365 bonus code
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