England are looking to bounce back from defeat against the Czech Republic as they travel to Bulgaria. Tom Carnduff has two best bets.
Bulgaria v England
If you saw the back pages of literally any newspaper on Saturday morning, you would have seen that England suffered a 'Reality Czech' on Friday (get it, because they lost to the Czech Republic).
It was a surprise result though because we expect England to cruise through European Qualifying with no major problems. The Three Lions were on a ten-year unbeaten run in qualifying and that should have continued through this group.
They're still in a great position to qualify though and will expect a response against a Bulgaria side who are bottom of the group without victory.
Gareth Southgate's men were comfortable in a 4-0 win over Bulgaria when they met at Wembley in September. Harry Kane netted a hat-trick and Raheem Sterling also grabbed one in between the two penalties.
Some may say that Bulgaria have a chance given how it's an away trip at a difficult venue. However, England can draw confidence in their form prior to Friday's defeat and the fact they beat Montenegro 5-1 in their away clash at the beginning of the campaign. Montenegro have an identical record to Bulgaria's so far.
That isn't to say that this will be plain sailing. Bulgaria registered four shots on target at Wembley as they looked to capitalise on England's shaky start.
I was really surprised to see the 8/5 price available on both teams to score considering the issues England are having in defence. Bulgaria fancied their chances of hitting the net in the reverse fixture and would probably have been disappointed with some of the chances they missed.
For that extra value, it's worth exploring the 7/1 on Ivelin Popov scoring anytime in this one. The Bulgaria captain has been a regular in the midfield and has already found the net in this qualification campaign.
Popov also scored in their recent friendly against the Republic of Ireland. That goal came from the penalty spot and the Rostov man is trusted with the set-piece situations for his country.
His ability to switch between the centre midfield, attacking midfield, left winger and centre forward role highlights his importance to this side. It also shows his intent on attack and he'll be looking to be among the goals in what should be a high-scoring contest.
Score prediction: Bulgaria 1-3 England (Sky Bet odds: 11/1)
Best bets:
Czech Republic 2-1 England highlights
England 4-0 Bulgaria highlights
Odds correct as of 1315 BST on 12/10/19
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