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Republic of Ireland vs England betting tips, BuildABet, best bets and preview
Football betting tips: Nations League
1pt Trent Alexander-Arnold to provide an assist at 4/1 (bet365)
1pt Trent Alexander-Arnold to score anytime at 9/1 (Sky Bet)
BuildABet @ 14/1
- Alexander-Arnold to score or assist
- Alexander-Arnold 2+ shots
- Declan Rice to commit 1+ fouls
- Harry Kane to win 2+ fouls
Given the Nations League's unique ability to evoke fairly universal ambivalence from even the most ardent of international supporters, we probably should be pretty grateful for the schedule presenting us with such an intriguing fixture.
Lee Carsley, Birmingham born and bred, steps up from his role as Under-21s boss to take charge of his first game as interim England manager. He does so away from home against the country he won 40 caps for as a player and represented at the 2002 World Cup.
Well known for their love of the English, the Dublin crowd are sure to give him a riotous reception.
As the post-Gareth Southgate era begins, the Republic of Ireland start a new chapter of their own under Heimir Hallgrimsson, whose crowning moment came at the expense of the Three Lions when his Iceland team knocked them out of Euro 2016.
But where Carsley inherits a side who have reached the final at two of the last three major tournaments, Hallgrimsson walks in to an altogether different situation.
Ireland's last 13 matches reads W3 D2 L8 with two of those victories over Gibraltar.
What are the best bets?
Much of the build-up has centred on an obsession with so called Carsball, the annoying way in which the playing style of England's Under-21s team has been described under Carsley as they impressively won the European Championship in 2023 playing brave, attacking football.
That, though, was far from an overnight success and is likely to take more than a few days of training to properly implement.
Easier to quickly embed is the kind of defensive organisation Hallgrimsson built his Iceland team on, so this could very well end up being a fairly turgid, rather than exciting, encounter.
With too many unknowns, England so short and the bookies wise to the unders, trying to bet on the outcome of the game is something I'd rather avoid.
The 10/3 about the draw is the one angle I did consider for a while, and given the tendency for this fixture between old rivals to end that way - nine out of 17 meetings and six times in a row between 1990 and 2015 - I wouldn't put you off backing it.
However, the teams' most recent meeting in 2020 exposed the glaring gap in quality as an experimental England romped to a 3-0 win at an empty Wembley, a result that only adds further murkiness to any attempt to forecast the outcome.
Trent's time to shine
Instead, backing TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD TO ASSIST at 4/1 and TO SCORE ANYTIME at 9/1 is where my money will be going.
- CLICK HERE to back Alexander-Arnold to provide an assist with Sky Bet
- CLICK HERE to back Alexander-Arnold to score anytime with Sky Bet
His four goals and 10 assists for club and country last season led to Southgate desperately attempting to shoehorn the Liverpool man into his XI at Euro 2024.
With no Kyle Walker in the squad, Kieran Trippier retired from international football and Carsley's reputation for playing expansive football, Alexander-Arnold finally looks set to play a leading role from his familiar starting position of right-back.
He is also likely to be England's set-piece taker, strengthening both selections further.
Team news
Gavin Bazunu and Josh Cullen are out for Ireland but Brighton striker Evan Ferguson could play despite missing the past five months through injury.
Leicester winger Kasey McAteer has switched his international allegiance from England and is in line to make his debut.
England trio Cole Palmer, Phil Foden and Ollie Watkins have joined Jude Bellingham and Luke Shaw in missing out through illness or injury, and there was no place in the squad for Marcus Rashford, Jordan Henderson or Kyle Walker.
Jack Grealish and Harry Maguire could feature after being recalled, while Rico Lewis, Levi Colwill, Noni Madueke, Morgan Gibbs-White, Tino Livramento and Angel Gomes will all hope their time in the Under-21s under Carsley leads to some involvement in Dublin on Saturday evening.
Predicted line-ups
Rep. Ireland: Kelleher; Coleman, O'Shea, Collins, Brady; Ogbene, Browne, Smallbone, O'Dowda; Ferguson, Idah.
England: Pickford; Alexander-Arnold, Stones, Guehi, Konsa; Rice, Mainoo; Saka, Eze, Gordon; Kane.
Match facts
- Republic of Ireland are set to host England for the first time since a goalless draw in a friendly in June 2015. In a competitive match, it’s the first time since a November 1990 European Championship qualifier, drawn 1-1 with Tony Cascarino cancelling out David Platt’s opener for England.
- England won their last meeting with the Republic of Ireland in November 2020 – they haven’t won consecutive games against them since doing so with wins in 1980 and 1985.
- This is England’s first game without Gareth Southgate in charge since a 1-0 win over Slovakia in September 2016 in Sam Allardyce’s only match in charge. Including caretakers, only four managers have lost their first game in charge of the Three Lions: Alf Ramsey (2-5 vs France in 1963), Howard Wilkinson (0-2 vs France in 1999), Peter Taylor (0-1 vs Italy in 2000) and Stuart Pearce (2-3 vs Netherlands in 2012).
- Republic of Ireland didn’t win any of their first 12 matches in the UEFA Nations League (D5 L7) but won two of their last four in 2022 (D1 L1), beating Scotland and Armenia.
- England have shipped the opening goal in each of their last four matches, all in the knockout stages of EURO 2024 (W2 D1 L1). They haven’t conceded the opener in five games in a row since between November 1953 and June 1954.
- England have scored just 13 goals in 11 games in 2024, having netted 26 in 10 games in 2023. Their 2024 average of 1.2 goals per game is their lowest in a year since 2000 (exactly one per game, 11 goals in 11 games).
- Heimir Hallgrímsson will take charge of the Republic of Ireland for the first time in this match. He was in joint charge of Iceland when they knocked England out of EURO 2016 with a 2-1 win; the only manager to defeat England with two different nations is Bora Milutinovic, in 1985 with Mexico and 1993 with the USA.
- Cole Palmer has a goal and an assist in his last two England appearances (assist vs Netherlands, goal vs Spain), coming off the bench in each game. The last Chelsea player to net in consecutive England matches was Frank Lampard between September 2012 and May 2013 (five in a row), with the last game in that run coming against the Republic of Ireland.
Odds correct at 1600 BST (05/09/24)
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