Wales v England Euro 2012 latest odds, team news and betting tip

England will not have to face the threat of Welsh winger Gareth Bale on Saturday in their Euro 2012 clash, as Wales manager Gary Speed has ruled the Tottenham star out with a hamstring injury. Bale was expected to make a start for Wales, who desperately need a win in the group, but will have to go through this one without him. Speed has installed Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey as captain for the match in Cardiff. Ramsey and Bale were the duo Wales were going to be looking to for that spark of inspiration to get something out of this game, now will have to explore other avenues. It’s not been a good time on the injury front for Wales, with Rob Earnshaw, Jack Collison and Sam Ricketts already out of action. Speed has been boosted by the news that Aston Villa centre half James Collins is fit and raring to go. Wales are bottom of Group G without a win so far in the Euro 2012 qualifiers, and they can’t leave it much longer to get their campaign going. There is already a lot of ground to make up between themselves and England, along with leaders Montenegro. But the Welsh can do themselves a huge favour in Cardiff on Saturday, and they are fired up for this one. What they really need is to get an early goal, and that will give them so much confidence and belief to get something out of this game. Even as the home side, the bookies have them down as underdogs, out as much as 8/1 with Paddy Power. That is the size of the task which is facing Wales at the moment, who truthfully don’t look a big threat up front, while not looking very solid at the back either.

As for England, there is a lot of competition for places going in the middle of the park. With Steven Gerrard absent, the time may just have gone for Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere to fully take the reins in the middle of the park. He has shown incredible maturity over this season with his club, and is being pencilled in as the future England captain. So now Fabio Capello, who will probably stick to his rigid 4-4-2 has to decide on a midfield partnership. Do Wilshere and Lampard play together, with Wilshere holding back more, or does Capello put Wilshere in the more aggressive role and leave Gareth Barry or Scott Parker to back him up? The competition for places can only be a good thing for England at the moment, and there is enough versatility among the contenders to shake things up if need be. When Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard have played together over the past twelve months, England’s success rate has suffered compared to when just one of them start. England do need to keep the Welsh crowd quiet, and while it is being touted as nothing more than a Premier League style match, England need to rely on the professional qualification jobs they have done under Capello before, and not get wholly swept up into the occasion. The more sting they can take out of the Welsh, the easier it will be to pick them off. You can’t help but feel that Wilshere could be one of the main keys for unlocking the Welsh. England have firepower in the starting eleven and from the bench. Andy Carroll may get the chance to play the big man role up front in partnering Wayne Rooney (who only has one international goal in his last twelve matches), leaving the pace of Jermain Defoe to come off the bench if need be. England are hot favourites with the bookies, best priced at the moment for 4/9 with BetFred.

BetFred are running their Double Delight football betting promotion for this international match as well. Back a First Goalscorer in the match, and if that player opens the scoring and then goes on to score a second at any time in the match, BetFred will double the initial First Goalscorer odds. The same applies if that First Goalscorer goes on to score a hat trick in the match, and then you can get your odds tripled. This is a great offer from BetFred, where Wayne Rooney is 7/2, Darren Bent and Jermain Defoe 11/2 in the First Goalscorer Market at BetFred. The popular online bookmaker is the place to go, where you can get a £50 free bet as well when you sign up. It’s a big week of International Football, and BetFred have you covered very well.

Wales v England Betting Tip: Expect something of a cagey first half, with Wales running hard, but unable to really penetrate England’s solid back four. England should grow steadily into the match. England just have much better options off the bench and should be able to find a goal from somewhere. Therefore a Draw/England Half Time Full Time bet for 10/3 at BetFred is looking decent value.