We offer our best bets as England host Uruguay in an international friendly at Wembley on Friday evening
All eyes are on Wembley as England begin their World Cup preparations with a friendly against Uruguay on Friday night.
Manager Thomas Tuchel has selected a bumper 35-man squad, but 11 of those picked will be unavailable until after this game.
The Uruguay squad may lack some of the stars of yesteryear, but boss Marcelo Bielsa has taken a strong roster to London.
Here are our international football betting bet builder selections for Friday evening’s game.
England v Uruguay Bet Builder
Pays out at 12/1
Resting lions could be missed
Thomas Tuchel has named a 35-man squad for the friendly ties with Uruguay and Japan, but it doesn’t look like a vintage Three Lions line-up.
Harry Kane, Declan Rice, Anthony Gordon, Marc Guehi, Ezri Konsa and Elliot Anderson are among those unavailable to Tuchel on Friday night and England were already without injured duo Recce James and Eberechi Eze.
An England defence likely to contain Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento and a midfield shield of Adam Wharton and Jordan Henderson doesn’t rate as a top-level team and the Three Lions could be vulnerable to Uruguay.
Tuchel’s men have won five straight games, but they were beaten 3-1 by Senegal in an international friendly before their winning run, and England’s recent performances have hardly been dazzling.
Uruguay will be expertly coached by elite gaffer Bielsa and the Sky Blue can call on top-level performers Federico Valverde, Darwin Nunez and Maximiliano Araujo.
Uruguay have lost only one of their last seven games and they look to have been underrated on Friday night.
Leg 1: Uruguay to win @ 11/2
Wembley entertainment could be in short supply
Building from a solid defence has certainly been Tuchel’s approach during his spell in charge of England and the Three Lions have kept 11 clean sheets in their last 12 games.
It won’t be a full-strength England backline on Friday night, but Tuchel’s tactical set-up is unlikely to change.
Uruguay have seen eight of their last 11 matches go under 2.5 goals and the South Americans have a tough and robust rearguard.
Going low on goals looks like a solid bet builder play.
Leg 2 : Under 2.5 goals @ 8/11
Darwin an evolving threat
The international retirements of forwards Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani mean Nunez is likely to lead the Uruguay forward line, and the Al-Hilal striker could give England’s defence problems.
Nunez has scored 10 goals in his last 19 international appearances and he has struck six times for Al-Hilal this term.
The former Liverpool forward is averaging 3.09 shots per 90 minutes in the Saudi Pro League this season.
While that isn’t the strongest division around, those are still pretty useful numbers, so take Nunez to hit at least two shots at Wembley.
Leg 3: Darwin Nunez to have 2+ shots @ 4/7
