England will start life under interim head coach Lee Carsley on Saturday teatime, as the Three Lions kick off their Nations League campaign with a short trip to the Aviva Stadium to face the Republic Of Ireland. Last seen suffering a crushing 2-1 defeat in the 2024 European Championships final to Spain, England then waved farewell to Gareth Southgate and now under Carsley will be looking to hit the ground running in this tournament.
Despite home advantage Heimir Hallgrimsson’s Ireland will head into the contest as clear 6/1 outsiders with Sky Bet to claim a shock win over England, while the visitors are available at 1/2 with bet365, with the draw priced at 100/30 with Unibet. We preview the game here and pick out our best bets.
Ireland v England Tips
Tip #1 – Trent Alexander-Arnold to score first @ 25/1 with AK Bets, Star Sports
Much maligned for his negative playing style, Gareth Southgate’s England reign ended without silverware, but now it’s Lee Carsley’s opportunity to earn the England job on a full-time basis and he’s promised to play an attacking, free-flowing style of football. Against Ireland this weekend it could be the perfect opportunity for Carsley to let off the handbrake and let England play.
One man that could benefit from that is Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold, who is a constant attacking threat and if Carsley elects to play him in a more forward role when in possession then he could easily get the chance to unleash some strikes at goal. Also, likely to be the free-kick taker when within shooting range, the 25/1 for the Scouse defender to score first with AK Bets and Star Sports looks a decent bet.
Tip #2 – Caoimhin Kelleher Over 5.5 saves @ 9/2 with Sky Bet
If England do fly out of the traps and look to put Ireland on the back foot from the first whistle then it could be a busy even for Ireland’s keeper Caoimhin Kelleher. A classy number two for Liverpool, Kelleher has shown in recent seasons that he’s an able deputy to Alisson and has pulled off some fabulous saves for the Merseysiders.
Carsley is sure to ring the changes in his first game and there will be some talented attackers looking to show what they can do and Kelleher could be busy. Sky Bet are offering 9/2 for the Irish shot stopper to make over 5.5 saves in the match and providing he plays 90 minutes then this is sure to be close to land.
Ireland Form Guide
One win in their last five matches, which have all been friendlies, Ireland have been struggling to perform with any consistency in recent times and they were comfortably beaten 3-0 by Portugal in their last game. They were beaten by that same scoreline the last time they faced England, so they will need to improve immeasurably to claim a shock win.
Ireland Recent Results
Portugal 3-0 Ireland
Ireland 2-1 Hungary
Ireland 0-1 Switzerland
Ireland 0-0 Belgium
England Form Guide
England reached their second consecutive European Championships final in July, but yet again they fell at the final hurdle as they lost 2-1 to Spain. Outplayed for large parts of that final, England stuttered their way through the entire tournament and looked far from world-beaters. A gutsy 2-1 semi-final win over The Netherlands showed they can produce under pressure, but now under new stewardship they will need to start all over again.
England Recent Results
Spain 2-1 England
Netherlands 1-2 England
England 1-1 Switzerland
England 2-1 Slovakia