John Terry will lead England out at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday, in the big Wales v England Euro 2012 qualifier, after surviving an injury scare in Chelsea’s Barclays Premier League victory over Manchester City on the weekend. The battler that he is, got up and carried on the rest of the match. England boss Fabio Capello has picked a familiar squad, with the only newcomer being Wolves midfielder Matt Jarvis, who had another impressive performance on the weekend against Aston Villa, netting the winner. England are second in Euro 2012 qualifying Group G, after winning two and drawing one of their opening matches so far. England started as favourites to win the group, but couldn’t find the breakthrough against group leaders Montenegro when they came to Wembley and put up a stubborn performance. Now England will be looking for a stronger performance under the spotlight of a sellout Millennium Stadium crowd, as they search for more points to guarantee their participation at Euro 2012. Following the Wales v England fixture, England squeeze in another match on March 29th, against African visitors, Ghana, while the majority of Europe play more Euro 2012 qualifiers. While the international break takes punters away from football betting on the domestic scene, it will not dampen the enthusiasm for having a flutter, with a host of interesting matches coming up over the next week or so.
England should still go on and compete for the top spot in the Euro 2012 qualification group, and they need a victory on Saturday to give themselves a boost after their Montenegro stumbles. They can assured that the hosts will come at them with passion and pace, and will be as much about quietening the crowd early on, as it will be creating chances. The new look Capello England squad still shows a lot of promise, and while they are firmly a work in progress still, that will be no excuse not to deliver. This could well take on an atmosphere of being more a Premier League match than the slower pace internationals we are usually exposed to. Wales need to be positive and that could create space for England to push forward themselves. England, never whole heartedly dynamic themselves, will look for a more controlled, patient possession game. Capello is unlikely to field too unfamiliar of a side for kick off, with Spurs centre half Michael Dawson the most likely candidate to slot in beside John Terry in the absence of Rio Ferdinand, and a lot of midfield attacking impetus falling on Frank Lampard’s shoulders with Steven Gerrard on the sidelines through injury as well. Up front, Wayne Rooney is ready to continue his duties, and could be paired up with Jermain Defoe, now that the Spurs striker is back fit.
With this being new Welsh manager Gary Speed’s first competitive match in charge on home turf, they need to turn around their fortunes as quickly as possible, after losing all three of their opening matches and sitting bottom of the group. Speed has made positive selections, in drafting in Tottenham winger Gareth Bale and Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey. Both are potential match winners for Speed, and while they have both had their injury problems, they are ready to get straight into the heart of the action for their country. Wales have struggled up front, and there are still big holes in their defence, something which previous manager John Toshack couldn’t plug. Now Speed needs to get to grips quickly and the most important aspect will be not to lose an early goal to England. That could dent confidence, and force them to open up far more than they would want to early on, leaving England to pick them off on the counter attack.
Wales v England Euro 2012 Qualifier Betting Tip: The big football betting question, is whether Wales have enough firepower to down England on the night? Any Welsh win you feel, would only be by a goal margin, and with England failing to win just one of their last 13 qualification matches under the reign of Fabio Capello, the odds are with the visitors. They have the larger wealth of talent to call upon, and while it could be an uncomfortable night, it should not be one which they can’t handle at this level. They have faced much trickier away tests than this, and with their defence being superior to that of the Welsh, you would picture his being a prosperous return to the England captaincy for John Terry. There is more of a threat in the English attack, and should be able just to get the job done here.
