Two games stand between England and the perfect World Cup qualifying campaign, the first of which is at home to Serbia at Wembley on Thursday evening.
Thomas Tuchel’s men have not put a foot wrong in their Group K campaign, winning six out of six and not even conceding a goal to book their ticket to next summer’s finals.
While England can enjoy this week’s double-header – they sign off in Albania on Sunday – the pressure is firmly on the Serbs, who could be eliminated if results on Thursday do not go their way.
It is going to be a big night at Wembley and we have identified a 14/1 bet builder for the contest.
England vs Serbia Bet Builder
England to win first half @ 3/4
Over 8.5 Corners @ 7/10
Declan Rice anytime scorer @ 5/1
Pays out at 14/1
Tuchel’s perfect stars to start fast
The pressure is off Tuchel with England qualified for the World Cup, but the German head coach still has a target.
A perfect eight wins out of eight would send out a real message to their global rivals, especially if those eight victories are secured with eight clean sheets.
That is the aspiration for England, who are yet to lose or ship a goal and fast starts have been the bedrock of their campaign.
For example, when they visited Thursday night’s opponents Serbia in the return game in Belgrade in September, the Three Lions were 2-0 ahead inside 35 minutes and went on to win 5-0.
They have won the first half in five of their six matches played so far and this limited Serbian side might not be good enough to keep their hosts at bay.
This England side is full of goals and full of in-form goalscorers, with the likes of Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford set to frighten the lives out of the modest Serbs.
England are a short price to win and rightly so. For the bet builder, though, take them to win the first half at a much nicer price.
Leg 1: England to win first half @ 3/4
England intent can back Serbs into a corner
Such are the maths of this section that a draw for Serbia at least gives them a sniff of qualifying for the World Cup, whereas a defeat will be curtains if Albania, as expected, win in Andorra.
Expect, therefore, Veljko Paunovic’s side to dig in and be penned in by an England side full of flair and attacking zeal.
England won six corners in Serbia when the sides met in Belgrade and they can up that number in London.
Three of their six qualifiers have produced nine corners or more and this may well be the fourth.
Leg 2: Over 8.5 Corners @ 7/10
Rice a nice price to slice through visitors
Declan Rice has scored twice for Arsenal this season and once for England, in the 2-0 win over Andorra in September.
The Gunners’ midfielder plays with a lot more attacking swagger than he ever did for West Ham and, if Serbia are dug in, then he should get a fair few sights of goal from around the edge of the box.
It’s the wild card, but take Rice to score at any time to complete the Wembley bet builder.
Leg 3: Declan Rice anytime scorer @ 5/1
