Prediction & odds for the game: England (2/11) v Iceland (14/1)

When: Wednesday, 18th November @ 7.45pm K.O

Where: Wembley Stadium

Despite some initial fears, England and Iceland will indeed meet in the UEFA Nations League on Wednesday night at Wembley.

England

While England may be viewed as one of the favourites to win UEFA Euro 2021 next year, there are still plenty of question marks hanging over the head of Gareth Southgate. Sure, they were able to exceed expectations during the 2018 FIFA World Cup, but there are no medals available for fourth place. There is a real golden generation of talent bursting through the English game and the next few years are going to be crucial if the Three Lions are to take advantage of that.

A 0-0 draw against Denmark back in September didn’t exactly motivate the masses, but the subsequent wins against Wales and Belgium certainly warranted some praise. Alas, the Danes once again put a dampener on proceedings by inflicting a 1-0 defeat on Southgate’s men – and a positive 3-0 win against Republic of Ireland meant very little when compared to a 2-0 loss to Belgium.

Iceland

Despite their best efforts, Iceland will not be featuring at a third consecutive international tournament next summer. They can still be incredibly proud of everything they’ve been able to accomplish across the last few years, but they’ll also be left to wonder whether or not this period of success is starting to come to an end for them. They’ve still got an intriguing squad full of potential match winners but if they don’t start to pair that up with some fresh talent, they could start dropping like a stone.

Back at the start of October, Iceland’s 2-1 win over Romania in their play-off semi-final was the definition of a momentum builder. Unfortunately, that’s the only positive news they’ve had in quite some time, losing to Belgium twice and Denmark twice in the months since. They did lead Hungary in their vital play-off final just a few days ago, but two late goals ensured they wouldn’t be heading back to the Euros this time around.

Conclusion

The visitors are going to be at something of a low right now and given the current state of their Nations League group, we can’t imagine they’re going to feel particularly motivated in their pursuit of success against England. The hosts, on the other hand, know how to win convincingly at Wembley, and they’ve known how to bounce back from disappointment in the last few years. We’re backing them to get the job done with a hefty win to get them back on the right track.

Our official prediction is going to be 3-0, which is why we’re also backing the over 2.5 goals market.

Verdict: Back the home win at odds of 2/11 and the over 2.5 goals scored at odds of 4/6 (All odds are taken from bet365).

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If you want to bet on England vs Iceland then head on over to the betting page. Alternatively, you can check out some of the other available fixtures at the soccer predictions page ahead of the incoming build-up heading into next summer’s UEFA Euro 2021 tournament.