Scotland vs England: Preview, prediction, team news, betting tips and odds

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England and Scotland meet at Wembley in a repeat of their famus Euro ‘96 fixture 25 years ago, with both sides looking for a key win.

Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions kicked off Group D with a 1-0 win over Croatia thanks to a Raheem Sterling goal, leaving them as favourites to finish top of the table.

As for Scotland, Steve Clarke’s men are up against it after losing their opening game 2-0 to the Czech Republic, with one of Patrick Schick’s two goals coming from inside his own half.

That defeat means Scotland realistically need a result in London to stand a chance of qualifying for the knockout stages, but England are among the favourites to win the Euros and are odds-on for three points here.

Date, kick-off time and venue

Photo: Fatsoma

England vs Scotland is scheduled for an 8pm BST kick-off on Friday, June 18, 2021.

The match will be held at Wembley Stadium.

Match preview

Raheem Sterling scored the only goal of the contest against Croatia on Sunday, as England started their Group D challenge with an important victory at Wembley. In truth, it was a relatively comfortable match for the Three Lions against a Croatia side that struggled for inspiration in the final third.

There were plenty of positives aside from the result, though, with Kalvin Phillips excelling in the middle of the park and Sterling finding the back of the net despite his inconsistent form for Manchester City last term.

Gareth Southgate's side will now be eyeing a second successive win at Euro 2020, which would take the pressure off ahead of their final Group D fixture against the Czech Republic on June 22.

England have actually now been victorious in their last seven matches in all competitions, conceding just once during that run, and the fact that Ben Chilwell and Jadon Sancho did not even make the bench against Croatia is an indication of the strength present in the current squad.

The Three Lions, who have not made it past the quarter-finals of the European Championship since reaching the final four in 1996, are unbeaten in their last four games with Scotland, although the two nations played out a 2-2 draw when they last locked horns in 2017 during qualification for the 2018 World Cup.

There is no firm pressure on England to pick up a win on Friday, but the same cannot be said for Scotland, who are in a tough position due to their disappointing two-goal defeat to the Czech Republic on Monday.

The Scots had their moments in Glasgow but conceded late in the first period to Patrik Schick, before the Bayer Leverkusen attacker scored a stunning long-range effort to make it 2-0 early in the second half, and Clarke's team just could not respond at Hampden Park.

Scotland, who finish their Group D campaign against Croatia on June 22, are playing in their first European Championship since 1996, when they also famously took on England in the group stage, and first major tournament since the 1998 World Cup.

Team news

Photo: Getty Images

Dean Henderson has had to withdraw from the England squad with a hip injury, meaning Aaron Ramsdale has been called up.

Harry Maguire is fit to start following his return to training, though Gareth Southgate may be tempted to wait until the third group game against Czech Republic if he can spare the Manchester United captain - especially after England’s clean sheet against Croatia.

England squad

Goalkeepers: Sam Johnstone, Jordan Pickford, Aaron Ramsdale

Defenders: Ben Chilwell, Conor Coady, Reece James, Harry Maguire, Tyrone Mings, Luke Shaw, John Stones, Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker, Ben White

Midfielders: Jude Bellingham, Jordan Henderson, Mason Mount, Kalvin Phillips, Declan Rice

Forwards: Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, Jadon Sancho, Raheem Sterling

Scotland squad

Goalkeepers: Craig Gordon, David Marshall, Jon McLaughlin

Defenders: Nathan Patterson, Stephen O’Donnell, Andy Robertson, Kieran Tierney, Greg Taylor, Liam Cooper, Grant Hanley, Declan Gallagher, Scott McKenna, Jack Hendry

Midfielders: Billy Gilmour, Callum McGregor, Scott McTominay, Stuart Armstrong, John McGinn, John Fleck, David Turnbull

Forwards: Che Adams, James Forrest, Ryan Christie, Ryan Fraser, Lyndon Dykes, Kevin Nisbet

Prediction

Photo: Six Nations Rugby

This game should be full of blood and thunder and may be more akin to a Premier League fixture than a major international one – meaning anything can happen.

With that said, England have a far stronger squad than Scotland and have performed far better than their rivals in their opening Euro 2020 game.

Scotland looked rather toothless against the Czech Republic, and it’s unlikely they’ll be able to break England’s defense down. At the back, Scotland likely won’t be capable of keeping England’s attack quiet for too long.

This should be a win for England.

Prediction: England 2-0 Scotland

Betting tips and odds

England to Win-to-Nil

England have won five of their last seven encounters against Scotland, claiming a 3-0 win when the pair last locked horns at Wembley in 2016. England have kept clean sheets in three of their last five wins against Scotland and we're backing Gareth Southgate's defensively strong side to shut out Steve Clarke's men on Friday.

Under 2.5 Goals

We're not expecting an action-packed 90-minutes between these two sides, with England expected to control the majority of the play. Under 2.5 goals have been produced in four of England's last five matches while three of Scotland's last five fixtures have also witnessed fewer than three goals, so you can see why we're backing under 2.5 goals on Friday.

2-0 to England

England secured a 1-0 win against their strongest opponents in Group D, Croatia, while Scotland failed to score against one of the weaker teams in the group, Czech Republic. Scotland were the architects of their own downfall against the Czech Republic and it's hard to see them getting anything against England on Friday.

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