Prediction: England vs Slovenia

Roy Hodgson’s England will be looking to end the year in style and cement the first place in Group E standings by recording fourth straight win in the Euro 2016 qualifiers. Meanwhile, Slovenia seriously improved their qualifying chances with back to back wins over Switzerland and Lithuania, but they, nonetheless, face an uphill task at Wembley.

The national team chiefs decided to stick with Roy Hodgson in spite of the disappointing World Cup campaign that saw the Three Lions crash out in group stage, taking just one point in the process, and the team have showed some improvement since. England enjoyed a perfect start to the Euro 2016 qualifiers, winning all three matches without conceding a single goal, and they will be eager to keep the run going against Slovenia. However, while scoring five past weak San Marino, the Three Lions did not exactly impress up front when facing Switzerland and Estonia, and with Danny Welbeck misfiring at the moment, England could find it hard to break hard-working Slovenia side at Wembley. Meanwhile, the back line has looked strong of late, with the Three Lions having kept five successive clean sheets and the expected addition of in-form Nathaniel Clyne at right-back is unlikely to destabilise the defence. Michael Carrick and Andros Townsend are both out injured and after scoring the winner against Estonia, captain Wayne Rooney can be backed at 11/10 to score past Samir Handanovic.

In spite of some good performances, Slovenia narrowly missed out on a place in the 2014 World Cup play-offs, but the team have continued to improve under Srecko Katanec. The national team chiefs surprisingly arranged friendly matches against World Cup participants Algeria, Uruguay and Argentina, and while Zmajceki lost all those games, the players certainly gained valuable experience form facing some of world’s top teams. Slovenia suffered an unfortunate 1-0 loss in Estonia at the start of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, but they then defeated Switzerland at home despite being on the back foot for large periods of the game, thus showing they can be a tough not to crack. Srecko Katanec’s charges then managed to build on that result to defeat Lithuania on the road, meaning they arrive at Wembley brimming with confidence. And with the team conceding just one goal in first three qualifiers, Slovenia can be trusted to make life difficult for England, which is enough to suggest a low-scoring game is on the cards. Fiorentina star Josip Ilicic continues to be overlooked, while Kevin Kampl is doubtful with a thigh problem.

Conclusion

England were far from impressive when facing defence-minded Estonia last time out, and while they will now be playing at home, the Three Lions will also be facing much stronger opponents, who are proving very hard to break. With that in mind, under 2.5 goals looks a good option here.

Verdict: Under 2.5 goals

Best Odds: 7/10

Bookmaker: William Hill