England U21 vs Slovenia U21 Prediction: Young Lions to roar once more

Lee Carsley’s England U21s got the defence of their European Championship underway with maximum points, as they secured a 3-1 victory over the Czech Republic in Group B. I was particularly happy with that result as we landed two winners, one backing England to win with a -1 handicap, and the other backing Jonathan Rowe to score at any time.

Hoping for more success, here are my England U21 vs Slovenia U21 predictions as they meet on Sunday (17:00, Channel 4).

Team News

I got something right when predicting England’s team news last week. Indeed, it was natural winger Rowe who started up front and duly delivered with a goal from his central berth. That means we got a decent price on him to score, while Harvey Elliott and Charlie Cresswell joined him on the scoresheet. 

Elliott, Omari Hutchinson and James McAtee started in the three positions behind the number nine, with Alex Scott and Eliot Anderson the double-pivot in midfield. Jarell Quansah played alongside Cresswell at centre-back, with Archie Gray and Tino Livramento in the full-back positions.

We can expect a similar XI to turn out here given the win, although Hayden Hackney, Ethan Nwaneri and Jay Stansfield are all pushing for starts. With Germany U21 to come on the final day, it will be interesting to see how Carsley navigates this group stage.

Slovenia U21 lost 3-0 to that Germany outfit in their opening game, and there was some bad news at the back as 19-year-old centre-back Lovro Golic was taken off late on with an injury. Presuming he won’t be fit enough to start this one, Atalanta defender Relja Obric should take his place - with the Italian-based defender unlucky to miss out on a start in the opener. 

At the top end of the pitch, Dino Kojic may be brought into the attack, while Marko Brest should play from the left after an impressive display against the Germans. Tio Cipot is expected to keep his place as the central striker. 

England U21 vs Slovenia U21 Odds

England U21 are unsurprisingly the heavy favourites to win this game, priced at 2/9 to get another three points. Slovenia U21 are rank outsiders at 10/1, while a draw can be backed at 5/1. 

If you fancy goals, over 2.5 is 2/5 while BTTS is 4/5 and Stansfield is the favourite to score first at 10/3. 

England -2 handicap @ 13/8

Having had success backing a handicap for England’s opener, I’m taking things one step further and pushing this up to -2 for the Slovenia game. Slovenia looked like a poor outfit against Germany as they fell to a 3-0 defeat and I see no reason why England can’t at least match that scoreline. 

Slovenia U21 have failed to win their last four outings, losing to Finland and Germany in their last two, so this should be a one-sided affair. With all of England’s quality, they shouldn’t have too much trouble brushing them aside. 

Harvey Elliott to score first @ 13/2

I’m going to back a first goalscorer on this occasion, and I think the value lies in backing Liverpool wide man Elliott to do exactly what he did in the first game. He scored with a thumping low strike against the Czech Republic, and in comparison to the 4/1 on offer for Rowe to strike first, offers far longer odds. 

His left foot is marvellous and I can see him causing plenty of trouble for Slovenia from that right-wing position. He averaged 1.03 shots on target per 90 for Liverpool this season, 3.33 shots in total per 90, so he’s not afraid of pulling the trigger. I’m going to back him to open the scoring for a second successive match.

Offers

Acca Flex: Place a pre-match 5+ leg Football accumulator and get a CASH bonus up to 100% if all of your selections win or your money back as CASH if one leg lets you down

Click here for the latest Football Odds

You can read all our latest Football Bet of the Day offerings at our dedicated Betfred Insights content hub.