Tom Carnduff's (@TomCarnduff) Cheat Sheet delivered a 5/1 winning BuildABet as Arsenal beat Manchester United last week, with just one more foul needed for a full house of selections at 25/1. That coming a week after narrowly missing out on 50/1 success. Focus now turns to international football, with England back in action...
Football betting tips: Euro 2024 qualifiers
2pts Harry Kane to score anytime at 21/20 (bet365, William Hill)
Back our suggested BuildABet @ 7/1
Harry Kane to score anytime
Jude Bellingham 1+ shots on target
Declan Rice 1+ fouls
Ben Chilwell 1+ fouls
While the international breaks often deliver frustration to supporters, their somewhat infrequent nature across the course of a year means it can be easy to forget the state of play when it comes to competitive fixtures.
Gareth Southgate's England side are flying and find themselves at 1/8 to win their Euro 2024 qualifying group, let alone qualify for next year's tournament in Germany. The June international break delivered 11 goals across two victories.
As things stand, with four of England's eight games played, Ukraine are their closest 'challengers' to top spot, yet six points separate the two sides.
Admittedly, England have played a game more than Ukraine who, in turn, have played one match more than third-placed Italy. But the Three Lions' victory in Naples in their first group game felt like it had already secured first place for them.
A win here puts England on the mathematical brink of qualification as they'll have three games left. They finished 10 points clear of Kosovo in Euro 2020 qualifying and eight points ahead of Albania as they cruised to the World Cup in 2022.
The city of Wrocław in western Poland awaits a confident England side; it's been two comfortable wins over Ukraine in recent competitive meetings.
King Kane can add to his tally
You can't back England in a game such as this due to their price, although they may as well make up one spot in any international accas for the evening kick-offs.
There is a temptation in international games to try and find the angle you can't get in club football - so often players feature in different positions and offer up some value - but there's one price staring me in the face that I can't ignore.
At 21/20, and with even money available across the board, HARRY KANE TO SCORE ANYTIME is too good to turn down.
I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing with selections that don't feel like they need much explanation. Kane is England's all-time top goalscorer, alongside holding the same accolade for Tottenham before he made that switch to Bayern Munich.
He's scored in all four of England's outings in this qualification campaign, with only one of those requiring him to play the full 90 minutes.
I'm not using 'flat track bully' here because he's a world-class striker but his numbers in qualification games further highlight why this is a strong price. Kane netted 12 in Euro 2020 qualifying and the same figure en route to the 2022 World Cup.
Bellingham in fine form
Jude Bellingham's start to his Real Madrid career has been nothing short of sensational.
The 20-year-old has scored five goals and contributed an assist in his four LaLiga games so far this season - shout out to Liam Kelly at this point who backed Bellingham for 15+ goals this season at 20/1.
The midfielder has only played two of England's four qualification games but posted a shot in each, with an effort on target in the away win in Italy.
Adding BELLINGHAM 1+ SHOTS ON TARGET is an appealing option here given his own recent good form.
He's only scored once for England but it's worth remembering that he didn't become a regular starter until the most recent Nations League campaign in 2022. He will have plenty on his tally by the time his international career concludes.
Focus on fouls
You can always add a bit of juice to a multiple by focusing on fouls - this game is no different.
Luke Shaw's injury means BEN CHILWELL should start at left-back, and I'd add 1+ FOULS to my recommendation here.
His only appearance in this qualification campaign came in the home win against Ukraine with a foul committed in that game.
The hosts will have to push forward at times which should put pressure on Chilwell, so it's not unreasonable to expect another foul to come at some stage across the 90 minutes.
The addition of DECLAN RICE 1+ FOULS also takes my multiple to the 7/1 mark, which looks good value to me.
He'll be featuring in centre midfield which should lead to heavy involvement in all aspects of the game - that's outlined by his 10 successful tackles across the Premier League campaign so far.
Rely on Rashford
I enjoy the early season FPL discussions - some of the overreaction can be quite enjoyable.
In focus has been Marcus Rashford and his 'awful' start to the campaign - he's ONLY delivered a goal and assist across the first four games. A crisis!
Both have conveniently come since his switch back to the left, rather than playing as the centre forward. He should be on the left side of this England attack.
As such, taking RASHFORD TO SCORE OR ASSIST is the play to further increase the odds of a multiple.
Rashford had direct involvement in two of the seven goals when England thrashed North Macedonia last time out, with three goals coming in five appearances at the World Cup.
The great debate...
Social media will be, erm, fun (?) when the team news is revealed around 15:45 on Saturday.
Harry Maguire doesn't play for Manchester United, that much is clear, but until he performs badly for England - and with Southgate at the helm - his spot in the national side is pretty secure.
The whole 'pick players on form' discussion will return but Southgate trusts him and will continue to trust him regardless of his club situation.
If you want to make this multiple a big priced one though, add MAGUIRE 2+ FOULS to it.
The centre-back committed six fouls across England's previous three qualifiers, with two or more coming in both of the last two. He averaged 1.2 fouls per game in World Cup qualifying, with the same figure returned at the actual tournament.
Team news
Mykola Shaparenko and Ruslan Malinovskyi are absent for the hosts, but the return of Oleksandr Zinchenko will be viewed as a big boost.
Mykhailo Mudryk featured for Chelsea in their loss to Nottingham Forest after missing the win over Luton, while Everton's Vitaliy Mykolenko is also involved in the squad despite a recent injury worry.
John Stones' absence in defence opens up an opportunity for one of Lewis Dunk, Marc Guehi or Fikayo Tomori to join Maguire in the England back-line.
Jordan Henderson's national team future is in focus following his move to Saudi Arabia, and James Maddison's superb form for new club Tottenham gives Southgate a dilemma in the midfield positions.
Predicted line-ups
Ukraine: Lunin; Konoplya, Zabarnyi, Krystov, Mykolenko; Sydorchuk, Stepanenko, Zinchenko; Yarmolenko, Vanat, Mudryk
England: Pickford; Walker, Guehi, Maguire, Chilwell; Rice, Henderson, Bellingham; Saka, Kane, Rashford
Match facts
- Ukraine have won just one of their nine games against England (D2 L6), winning 1-0 in a World Cup qualifying match in October 2009.
- England have kept six clean sheets in their nine meetings with Ukraine, including each of their last three, since a 1-1 draw in September 2012.
- Ukraine have won their last two matches, beating North Macedonia and Malta in June. They last won three games in a row in October and November 2019.
- England have won 21 of their last 22 European Championship qualifiers, the only exception in this run a 2-1 defeat at Czech Republic in October 2019. They’ve also scored in each of their last 27 Euro qualifiers, netting 93 goals in total, since a goalless home draw with Montenegro in October 2010.
- Ukraine have only lost one of their last 13 European Championship qualifiers (W9 D3), although that one defeat did come away at England in March.
- Harry Kane has taken five penalties in his last five England appearances, scoring four and failing with one against France at the World Cup. He could become the first England player since Geoff Hurst in May 1969 to score a penalty in three consecutive England appearances.
- Kane has scored in his last six international appearances for England, his third different run of scoring in six consecutive games for the Three Lions. The last player to score in more consecutive appearances was George Camsell between 1929-36 (nine in a row).
- Bukayo Saka has been involved in nine goals in his last nine England appearances (7 goals, 2 assists), scoring a hat-trick against North Macedonia last time out. The Three Lions have won all eight games when Saka has scored and have not lost a game when an Arsenal player has scored since Francis Jeffers netted in a 3-1 defeat versus Australia in February 2003 (W24 D2 since).
Odds correct at 1025 BST (08/09/23)
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