Euro 2016: England vs Russia Betting Preview

Kick off: Monday, June 11, 8:00 PM GMT

Venue: Stade Velodrome (Marseille)

Head to Head record

Russia vs England 2-1 (Euro 2008 qualifiers)
England vs Russia 3-0 (Euro 2008 qualifiers)

England vs Russia prediction

All eyes will be on Stade Velodrome when England and Russia square off against each other in the opening match of their Euro 2016 campaign. The Three Lions are high on confidence ahead of Saturday’s game, but they will have to prove their worth on the field.

Big ambitions

England failed to impress at previous two major tournaments and they are desperate to record a good result at the upcoming European Championship finals. The Three Lions rolled over their opponents in the Euro 2016 qualifiers, with Roy Hodgson’s team continuing to impress in friendly games. England look sharp in front of goal and the likes of Jamie Vardy, Harry Kane and Wayne Rooney will certainly make life difficult for the opposition defenders in the opening match of their Euro 2016 campaign. The Three Lions suffered a 2-1 loss to Russia in their last meeting on the international stage and, no doubt, Roy Hodgson’s men are hungry for revenge. England are after their first ever European Championship trophy and given the number of high-profile players in the squad, the fans certainly have big ambitions for the upcoming showpiece tournament in France. Wayne Rooney scored in a 2-1 win over Australia in their penultimate friendly match and the experienced attacker should earn his 112nd cap for England against Russia.

Danny Drinkwater, Andros Townsend and Fabian Delph were all left out of the England Euro 2016 squad, but rising star Marcus Rashford made the final roster. Ryan Bertrand is doubtful and there is every chance Danny Rose will start the match. Chris Smalling is rated doubtful as well.

Russians hit by injuries

Russia were having their ups and downs in the Euro 2016 qualifiers. The Russians were struggling under Fabio Capello, but new coach Leonid Slutsky helped the team book their place at the European Championship finals. Russia are hit by injuries ahead of the start of the tournament in France as Denis Cheryshev, Alan Dzagoev, Oleg Kuzmin and Yuri Zhirkov were all forced to withdraw from the squad with injury. CSKA attacker Artem Dzyuba, though is fit, and he is likely to pose a big threat for the opposition defenders in Saturday’s game at Stade Velodrome. Leonid Slutsky’s men are likely to adopt a defence-minded approach in their Euro 2016 opener, but preventing England from scoring is easier said than done. The Russians failed to make it to the Euro 2012 knockout stages and, no doubt, they will leave their hearts on the field in order to make it to the Euro 2016 last 16.

Igor Denisov has been ruled out with injury, while aforementioned quartet Denis Cheryshev, Alan Dzagoev, Oleg Kuzmin and Yuri Zhirkov misses out as well. Roman Neustadter is pushing for a start.

Interesting facts

• England and Russia have never met before at Euro finals
• England managed to keep their 100% record in Euro 2016 qualifiers intact
• Wayne Rooney has scored 52 goals for the Three Lions to date
• Russia failed to keep a clean sheet in last five matches at the European Championship
• Leonid Slutsky’s team conceded seven goals in last three matches

England vs Russia betting pick

England star players Jamie Vardy and Harry Kane impressed in the 2015/2016 Premier League campaign and seeing that other first-team regulars were producing excellent displays last season as well, it is no surprise the Three Lions are regarded as favourites in the opening match of their Euro 2016 campaign. Russia head into the match with a severely-weakened squad and, taking everything into account, home win appears on the horizon.

Pick: England to win

Odds: 9/10