England v Czech Republic: Betting preview and selections for Tuesday with all eyes on Group D

England return to action on Tuesday as four more countries battle it out to see who can make it through to the last 16 of Euro 2020.
Phil Foden. Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty ImagesPhil Foden. Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images
Phil Foden. Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images

Group D will be decided with England playing the Czech Republic at Wembley and Scotland having home advantage for the second occasion against Croatia at Hampden Park.

England and the Czechs know that even a narrow defeat would still mean they would go through to the last 16 although if one of these sides do finish in third place it will be a nervous couple of days to have the standings confirmed.

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England are 4/7 favourites to return to winning ways, with the Czech Republic at 13/2 but the Czechs currently top the group due to a superior goal difference of +2. Home advantage will help Gareth Southgate’s side again at Wembley but there could be a nervousness if they struggle to break down the Czechs like they did the Scots during Friday’s stalemate. England are still preferred to win the group by bookies who have them at 4/7 to win and overtake the Czechs although a point for the side managed by Jaroslav Silhavy would keep them at the summit. They’re 11/8 to top the table and the side finishing at the summit will play the runner-up of Group F which is any one of France, Germany or Portugal.

Schick is the joint-top scorer of the tournament with three goals in his first two games and is 3/1 to score anytime against England. Meanwhile, Harry Kane had a difficult evening against Scotland, but the bookies still have him at evens to score anytime against the Czechs with Gareth Southgate confirming he will start on Tuesday evening. There are calls for both Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford to come into the team after Manchester City pair Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden weren’t able to create or produce many opportunities against Scotland. Grealish is 11/4 to get his first England goal while Rashford is 21/10 to find the net over the course of the 90 minutes.

Elsewhere, Scotland know that only a win will do against Croatia to give them a chance of qualifying for the knockouts for the first time in their history, but will have to do so without promising midfielder Billy Gilmour, who misses out after testing positive for COVID-19. Croatia have been disappointing in their opening games of this tournament but a comfortable win over Scotland should be enough to take them through regardless of what happens at Wembley. A draw for Zlatko Dalić’s side would cement their third place finish but two points wasn’t enough to take any country through in third place in 2016.

The last time Scotland played Croatia at Hampden Park they won 2-0 in 2013 thanks to goals from Robert Snodgrass and Steven Naismith, while the Scotland set up is vastly different from that day, there are still players of the Croatian team that played in that game showing the age and experience of their squad.

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Croatia are 11/10 to win in Glasgow, with Scotland 9/4 to create what would be a legendary night in Scottish football. Scotland are still without a goal in this tournament however Che Adams is the most likely player to find the net with the bookies at 15/8 to score anytime. Lyndon Dykes isn’t far behind at 9/4 and John McGinn is 7/2 and looking to play higher up the pitch.

The Scots are 9/4 to qualify out of the group but Croatia’s superior goal difference means that only a victory would achieve this.

Croatia are 5/4 to qualify and manager Zlatko Dalic could make changes due his side’s much improved second half display against the Czech Republic. Ante Rebic missed a glorious chance and was substituted at half time for Bruno Petkovic who seemed to offer a lot more than his team mate. Petkovic plays for Dinamo Zagreb and is 15/8 to score anytime, Perisic and Nikola Vlasic are their other leading chances at 2/1 to get their name on the scoresheet.

Odds and Euros tips via bettingexpert.com.