Under-strength England vulnerable to France

SPORTS BETTING:

TWO nations which were abject failures in the World Cup do battle at Wembley tonight.
England’s footballers rightly came in for plenty of flak after their humiliating defeat to Germany in the summer – but at least they reached the knock-out stage.

France, meanwhile, ducked out at the first hurdle as internal squabbles and disenchantment with management derailed their bid.

Both teams can do much better and tonight’s friendly at Wembley should be quite revealing.

But England will bear little resemblance to boss Fabio Capello’s first-choice team with the likes of John Terry, Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney and Jermain Defoe missing through injury.

France are in a rebuilding process, but they do have some excellent Premier League players in their ranks and, bearing in mind their opponents’ weakened line-up, odds of 11-4 about a Gallic success are pretty tempting.

I would not touch England with a barge pole at 13-10. Newcastle battering ram Andy Carroll is fit enough to take his place in the starting line-up, but a partnership of Carrol and Crouch is hardly likely to send shock waves through the French camp,while a youthful English team will also include Jordan Henderson and Kieran Gibbs.

In Samir Nasri and Florent Malouda, France boast two fine goalscoring midfielders.

They are available at 14-1 and 11-1 respectively to score the first goal and a small stake on both could be the way to go from a betting perspective.



MALOUDA’S Chelsea team-mates looked all at sea against Sunderland last weekend.

Maybe the Ray Wilkins sacking did not go down well with the players, but whatever the reason was for their dire display at Stamford Bridge, Carlo Ancelotti’s men need to bounce back at once.

Terry’s absence with a nerve problem in his leg could pose a major defensive headache for Chelsea, who may well be forced to spend in January in order to shore up their defence.

Manchester United may be forced to shell out, too, as they look a striker and at least one midfielder light.

Opposition to the big two has seen them pushed out to 10-11 and 7-2 respectively for the Premier League title, while Arsenal are down to 4-1 after back-to-back wins at Wolves and Everton.

As for Manchester City, the 18-1 fourth favourites need to find some adventure if they are to fulfil their potential.

Boss Roberto Mancini cannot understand why the City fans are booing his team, who currently sit in fourth place.

I will tell you why, Roberto. They know the title race is wide open this season and are frustrated that a team containing so many star players is being constrained by ultra-negative tactics.

Not enough blue shirts are getting into the opposition penalty box. If I can see it, then why can’t the management team?

It really is that simple. Mancini has taken safety-first tactics to a whole new level and City will not win anything unless there is a far more adventurous approach.



RECOMMENDATION: England v France, Samir Nasri to score first goal, 14-1 (general); Florent Malouda to score first goal, 11-1 (general).