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Iceland vs England: Match preview & Betting Tips

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The Three Lions will look to repair their reputation after a horrible Euro 2016 exit as they prepare for their inaugural Nations League match.

England will seek for revenge when the travel to Reykjavik to take on Iceland for their Nations League clash.

Saturday night will be the first time the teams come up against each other after the Three Lions were dumped out of the Euro 2016 Last 16 stage at the hands of their upcoming opponents following a 2-1 defeat.

Iceland vs England form

Iceland’s recent form looks better than decent as they have won four of their last five matches across all competitions.

However, they still do not go into the match with the right motivation. They finished at the rock bottom in their group in the 2018/29 edition of this competition. They also missed out on direct Euro 2020 qualification, although they have a chance to redeem their mistakes through the playoffs.

England, on the other hand, have been in inspiring form. They have managed to reach the semi-final stages of the last edition of the Nations League as well as the 2018 World Cup. They also swept through their Euro 2020 qualifying group, topping the table with 21 points out of a possible 24.

The Three Lions have looked quite deadly under Gareth Southgate, averaging more than three first-half goals across their last five matches. They also scored an astonishing 37 goals in eight matches in their Euro 2020 qualifying group.

Iceland vs England Team News

Erik Hamren will have to make do without three of his key players in Aron Gunnarsson, Gylfi Sigurdsson, and Johann Berg Gudmundsson. Gunnarsson’s Qatari club Al Arabi obstructed him from taking up national duty while the other two made themselves unavailable for selection. Fitness issues will also see Alfred Finnbogason and Ragnar Sigurdsson miss the match.

Southgate also has a much weakened squad at this disposal. Jordan Henderson, Marcus Rashford, and Harry Winks are all out due to fitness issues. Harry Maguire was also omitted after he was involved in a fighting incident.

Iceland vs England Head to Head

The two nations have faced each other on just three previous occasions. The first one ended in a stalemate way back in 1982, England humbled Iceland 6-1 in the second one, and the third came in the Euro 2016.

Iceland vs England Betting Tips

[Odds correct at time of publishing and subject to change, all odds as reported by the Telegraph]

England are the overwhelming favorites to win the match and take their revenge, at 3/10 odds. A draw is backed at 4/1 while Iceland are tipped to do the unpredictable and emerge victorious at 10/1 odds.

Harry Kane has been doing a great job at being the focal point of his national side’s attack. He has scored 32 times in 45 games for England so far, and odds for him to increase his tally are 5/2.

As mentioned earlier, England have found the back of the new with ease as of late. Odds for over 2.5 goals in the match are 4/5.

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