Ireland vs England Bet Builder Tips: Back the cards over goals in cagey Dublin contest

The Uefa Nations League isn't exactly famed for its intensity, but Saturday's Group B2 meeting between Ireland and England at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday (17:00) should produce a few fireworks in Dublin.

Ahead of the game in the Irish capital, I have pieced together a three-legged bet builder, offering odds of 13/5 with Betfred. You can find my Ireland vs England bet builder tips below.

Ireland vs England Odds

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Under 2.5 Total Goals

I'm not expecting too many goals on Saturday, despite England being freed from the shackles of Gareth Southgate as manager. Former Ireland international Lee Carsley, promoted from U21 head coach to interim boss of the senior side, is still getting to grips with the player at his disposal, and he's had very little coaching time to implement his ideas.

Six of England's last eight games have finished with two goals or fewer, and their hosts at the Aviva Stadium - Ireland - are unlikely to want an open contest on Saturday.

Four of Ireland's last six internationals have seen under 2.5 goals, including a March goalless draw with Belgium in Dublin, and a 1-0 Euro 2024 qualifier defeat to the Netherlands in Amsterdam last November.

Despite their limitations, Ireland have shown that they can be defensively organised, something they will be looking to show again this weekend. Liverpool's Caoimhin Kelleher is a very good goalkeeper and he will have the likes of Ipswich Town's Dara O'Shea and Brentford's Nathan Collins in front of him, two solid Premier League defenders.

I can see a fairly turgid affair in the Irish capital, with a maximum of one or two goals struck.

Each Team Over 9.5 Booking Points

Things could get feisty, however, and that's where the real entertainment may lie. Ex-Ireland international Declan Rice and former U21 player Jack Grealish are sure to be the pantomime villains at the Aviva, and the Irish players will look to get the supporters on side with a few crunching challenges on Saturday.

Ireland were shown three yellow cards in their 2-1 friendly victory over Hungary at the Aviva in June, with their opponents cautioned twice, while there was a yellow either side in their goalless draw with Belgium at the same venue in March.

England, meanwhile, have picked up at least one yellow in three of their last four friendlies, with each of Brazil, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iceland incurring the wrath of the referee against the Three Lions.

A yellow card is worth 10 points with Betfred, so just one is required on either side for this selection to land on Saturday.

Team Corners - Ireland Over 2.5

The third and final leg of this bet builder is all about corners, specifically in the direction of the hosts. We need Ireland to take three of them, something they managed to do in March friendlies against Belgium and Switzerland, winning four against both.

The Boys in Green only managed one against Hungary and fell narrowly short with two against Portugal last time out, but England conceded five corners to Iceland at Wembley in their last friendly and two to Bosnia-Herzegovina before that.

Ireland will be desperate to grab a goal on Saturday, and set-piece look like their most likely avenue of scoring, so I think they will be applying pressure to win a few in Dublin.

Football Odds

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