International football is back…. again!! May as well make the most of it though and with the England game due to be televised on ITV 1 it makes perfect sense to provide you all with Bet Builder tips and predictions for this one. Close but not quite there for the Three Lions in terms of qualification for Qatar 2022. A win on Thursday night at Wembley would all but seal their progression with just a game against minnows San Marino upcoming in the final game of Group I.
Albania, although often relatively underwhelming in their bid to qualify for major tournaments have had a very productive Group I campaign. Going into the game against England they sit 3rd, only 2 points behind 2nd placed Poland who currently sit in the final qualification ‘playoff’ place of the group. They will certainly give it their all at Wembley with qualification still mathematically possible. As always, using my own research, below are my Bet Builder tips and predictions for the game at Wembley on Friday night.
England v Albania Bet Builder Tips
Raheem Sterling 1+ Shots on Target
Despite his lack of minutes at club level, no doubt in my mind that after maybe Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling is the main man for his national team. His international career started slowly- Sterling failed to find the net at the last World Cup in Russia, meaning he had gone 26 games without scoring for England. What’s more, he had managed only two goals in his first 44 appearances for his country. Yet Southgate never doubted him — and his patience was rewarded as his next 21 appearances brought 15 goals, including that memorable run at the Euros where he was once again the star man for the Three Lions.
England are likely to play a full strength side with this their last real test of the qualifying campaign with just a game in San Marino to come on Monday night. This is also their last game at home of the year so both Sterling and the team will want to put on a good show for the home crowd.
Harry Kane to Score Anytime
No doubt that his failed summer move to Manchester City has effected Kane and his form at club level with Spurs this season. However, the England captain hasn’t allowed this to impact on his form for his country having notched 7 goals in his last 8 games coming into this one. He really seems to relish the time away with his country and uses it as a platform to relieve all the problems he has had at club level. 41 goals in 65 games for England is a truly remarkable record and it is simply a matter of time before he comes the all-time leading scorer for his country. He is just 12 behind the 53 scored by Wayne Rooney and given his strike rate I wouldn’t be surprised to see that record broken in the next 18 months or so.
Southgate is fully expected to play a strong side tonight with this really the last tough task of the group with just San Marino left to come. With that in mind, Kane is set to lead the line supported in attack by the likes of Sterling, Foden and Grealish. Fancy the England skipper to get on the scoresheet as he did in the reverse fixture in Albania back in March.
Elseid Hysaj to be Carded
We finish on a booking and with England likely to dominate proceedings and with Albania chasing a win to keep their slim hopes of qualification alive I fancy the visitors to pick up plenty of cards on Friday night. I was surprised to see this man had such good odds given his record of picking up yellows throughout his career and particularly in recent months. The Lazio defender is renowned for being a hard-nosed individual who takes no nonsense and isn’t shy of kicking a few players up in the air if needs be.
He has picked up 2 in his last 4 Albania games prior to this one and has three throughout the World Cup qualification campaign including one in the reverse fixture against England back in March. Only Klaus Gjasula (5) has managed to pick up more for the Albanians. Now, Gjasula is also a great pick for a card but he is priced very low at evens and isn’t a guarantee to start either which is why I have opted for Hysaj here. He is likely to start on the right hand side of the defence whether it be as a wing-back or as a right centre-back and will likely be directly up against Jack Grealish who we all know is one of the best at drawing fouls. Priced at 4.33, he looks exceptional value for a card on Friday night.
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Load the bet slip @ 8.73 at Paddy Power
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* I recommend waiting for confirmed team line-ups before placing any bets, my predicted line-ups can be found below *
England v Albania Predicted Line-ups
* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing *
How to watch England v Albania in World Cup Qualifying
📅 When is England v Albania? / Friday, 12 November 2021, 19:45 BST
🏟 Where is England v Albania? / Wembley Stadium (London)
📺 What TV Channel is England v Albania on? / ITV 1
📱 Online Live Streaming for England v Albania / bet365
🟨 …And who is the referee for England v Albania? / Felix Zwayer 🇩🇪
