England look a terrific bet at 6/5 to beat Sweden tonight (7.45pm KO, Live on BBC1) and take a step closer to qualifying for the quarter-finals.
They played well in their opening 1-1 draw against France, looking extremely well organised and solid in defence.
They made their opponents look ordinary, but one worrying factor is that they didn’t threaten upfront.
Roy Hodgson’s men were the only side without any shots attempted by strikers in the opening group games.
Four of their five shots against the French were by defenders Lescott (2),Johnson and Terry) with the other coming from midfielder Milner.
It would certainly be nice to see the likes of Welbeck, Young and Oxlade-Chamberlain being given the chance to roam and express themselves without being caught up a a rigid formation.
As far as the stats are concerned England have never beaten Sweden in a competitive encounter (D5 L2).
However they did put an end to their 12-game winless streak against them in a friendly last November and are looking better with every game under the new gaffer.
Sweden were also poor at the back when they lost 2-1 to Ukraine in their opening game, a match would underlined how much they are reliant on Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
If England can keep him at bay then they should be good enough to take all three points and 6/5 on offer with BetVictor, Hills, Ladbrokes and Paddy Power looks more than fair.
Given that England have won five of their last eight games 1-0, backing them to do so again at 13/2 with BetVictor and Ladbrokes also looks worth wager.
For those that like to play in the first goalscorer market I would suggest sticking with Danny Welbeck at 7/1 (generally available). The Man United striker had a good first game and his pace could cause the defence plenty of problems.
