Euro2012 – England vs Ukraine – Roo-ining home party
By David, bettingexpert.com | Edited
England star man is back in time to open the champagne bottles. Premature celebrations maybe but England will be glad they got through the group stage despite the managerial change, the injuries and the usual media experts ready to pounce on any mistake the squad betrays. Will they keep the tempo high enough to beat Ukraine and break many hearts?
England – Ukraine Odds: Euro 2012
On the right are odds for the match between England and Ukraine, which will remain visible right until kick off.
England – Ukraine Preview: Euro 2012
Just like everything else for England it will not be an easy task beating the Ukrainians. They are surely the favourites to have the upper hand, even because they could take a point from the game and still qualify. The ball should be in their feet and the return of Rooney cannot but boost their confidence.
Nobody can deny confidence levels were hitting the lowest levels during their five-goal thriller with Sweden. Going ahead then back to zero points only to complete a great comeback with one of the best goals we have seen so far. Welbeck did enough to deserve being Rooney’s partner in this match. The United duo may also benefit from a more attacking mentality as the aforementioned confidence levels keep growing and Hodgson gets his hands deeper into this squad. He cannot be expected to switch off his own perceptions of football. His plans and strategies cannot change much within such a context where he did not have enough time to experiment. I would expect him to keep repeating to his midfielders how important it is to return to their positions but as we have seen they have been instructed well in sprinting up the field when winning possession.
Blokhin has taught his team to play on the attack and he does know he has little to work with when it comes to defending. In a game he does need to win in order to progress we cannot expect betrayal of those ideals. He did try to be less adventurous against France. In that case he did hold a two-point advantage over Blanc’s team so probably that was the reasoning behind their latest performance.
The home team probably considered France the stronger team in the group. They were and few are the reasons which should see them dominate against England. After the game with Sweden there may have been weaknesses which came to the fore for the Three Lions, namely their reiterated inability to handle set pieces directed into their box. They do have the players who usually deal with those kind of situations effectively however so they ought to take the right measures.
Ukraine’s speed on the flanks might emerge as a problem but so far Hodgson has shown he is able to deal with choking his opponents in midfield. Gerrard’s thinking should this time be complemented by the creativity of Rooney playing a few metres in front of him. The dangers for Ukraine should naturally be greater.
England – Ukraine injury news: Euro 2012
Shevchenko clings heroically on despite the age and the niggling knee injury that may prevent him from being present for his country’s potential last game. He has not trained on Sunday and is very likely to miss out.
No major changes are expected from both managers expect Rooney’s return after the two match ban. He should be shouldering a striker like Welbeck rather than Liverpool’s Carroll, who is definitely more static in his game.
England – Ukraine Betting: Euro 2012
Still not convincing many critics but Hodgson’s England has been getting prettier and it should not be stopped by Ukraine despite home advantage. Knowing a draw would be enough, however, they might see themselves affording a cautious mindset. Ukraine’s desperate need for the three points should gift them those spaces they need to show they are serious contenders.
Verdict: England -0.25
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