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It’s David vs Goliath here at the National Stadium in Valletta as Malta takes on England in this Euro 2024 Group C qualifier.
Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions travel here with a 100% record after beating both Italy and Ukraine impressively back in March.
Malta lost both of their games so far but put up a decent fight against North Macedonia and Italy. For the home nation, this will be a huge occasion and they will be properly fired up.
In European qualifiers we often see significant mismatches in team quality, however this can bring up good value, something our stats pack guide and written guidance will help you exploit.
Take advantage of Paddy Power‘s latest offer to have a go at today’s Euro 2024 qualifiers:
Malta VS England PREDICTED LINEUPS
Teddy Teuma Injury Blow for Malta
Malta are expected to lineup in a 3-5-2 formation with Kyrian Nwoko and Jodi Jones upfront. Jones, who plays for Notts County, has yet to register a National team goal. Malta will be without midfielder Teddy Teuma who had a strong season in Belgium with Union SG. This is a major blow, and he will be missed in the central areas.
Question marks if any Man City players will start
England duo Jude Bellingham and Lewis Dunk have both pulled out of the squad. They join a plethora of absences with the likes of Mason Mount, Reece James and Ben Chilwell all on the sidelines. Ivan Toney is suspended. The England XI is hard to predict, and they are potentially looking ahead to the North Macedonia game in a few days’ time. Any Manchester City players will probably be benched leaving Kane, Rashford and Saka to lead the line.
Malta VS England TEAM STATS
Malta expected to be significantly outranked on corners
In their last five competitive matches Malta average over 11 shots per match, although that is likely to be significantly reduced here. They did however rack up 9 shots vs Italy and 7 vs North Macedonia with exactly two on target on each occasion. Their average of 11.20 shots against will probably be double in this type of contest facing far superior opposition.
It is no surprise to see Malta concede more corners than they obtain. They lost the corner battle 3-8 vs Italy and 2-5 vs North Macedonia. Taking England most corners would appear to be a banker and adding them to your England bet builder in the corner handicap market could make sense.
England’s accuracy has been impressive
England average a massive 3.67 goals for and only 0.76 against. They are expected to totally dominate proceedings here and are likely to rack up several shots, corners and attempts on target. Southgate’s men have impressive accuracy with nearly half of their efforts hitting the target. They tested the Ukraine goalkeeper 8 times and converted 4 of their 7 shots vs Italy on target.
In their last five competitive matches, The Three Lions have only averaged 4.80 corners which is surprisingly low. They lost the corner battle 3-7 vs Italy but outranked Ukraine 7-1 in this category. England only average 1.20 cards per game and watch out for it being a low card count again. Nobody will want to waste getting a card against poor opposition like Malta.
Malta vs England Players to Watch
Steve Borg value to be carded
Experienced Hamrun Spartans defender Steve Borg has 74 Malta caps and has been carded in 18 of those contests. He is likely to come under significant pressure from this England attack force and Harry Kane will give him a good working over. He is clearly someone who will take ‘one for the team’ if needed and odds of 3.10 look generous for him to go into the book.
Malta vs England
16th June
kick off 19:45 Steve Borg to be cardedJodi Jones looking to make his mark upfront
Malta are expected to start Notts County striker Jodi Jones and he will be keen to score his first national team goal on the big stage. Jones has been involved in a dramatic promotion campaign for Notts County and should be full of confidence. Malta will not get many opportunities in this match but at odds of 1.73 just to have a single shot, Jones must be worth considering adding to your Malta vs England bet builder. Even from an improbable position, he will likely try his luck at least once in this game.
Malta vs England
16th June kick off 19:45 Jodi Jones 1+ shotsJoseph Mbong another card candidate
Playing on the right hand side at either right back or the wing back role, Mbong looks to have a tough match up against Marcus Rashford here. He could also be potentially facing party animal Jack Grealish later on who will be full of tricks. Mbong is not an overly dirty player but has obtained 8 cards in 48 Malta appearances. Odds of 3.60 to go into the book could be generous when you consider the tough matchup he has.
Malta vs England
16th June kick off 19:45 JOseph Mbong to be cardedHarry Kane looking to add to his England goals
The all-time leading scorer for the Three Lions should be able to fill his boots here. He has been known to use fixtures like this to significantly pad up his stats and should hit the back of the net at least once. He is 1.25 to score anytime and 2.88 to net the first goal of the match. He is by far the most likely man on the field to break through first. Kane is also 1.57 to have 3 or more shots on target, something which shouldn’t be beyond him in a game like this where he will dominate.
Malta vs England
16th June kick off 19:45 Harry Kane to score anytimeSaka under the radar for fouls again
The Arsenal wide man averaged comfortably over one foul per game in the Premier League this season and regularly gives away cheap free kicks. He played 313 mins in the World Cup during the winter and averaged one foul every 44 mins for the Three Lions in that tournament. Malta are not tough opposition but he will probably press and harass too hard at times, leading to an easy foul being given away. At 1.67 to have at least one foul, Saka is once again underrated in this market.
Malta vs England
16th June kick off 19:45 Bukayo Saka 1+ foulsTrippier set piece option something to consider
The Newcastle United captain has enjoyed a strong season and if he starts this game we can probably expect him to be on most set pieces. He is priced at 1.57 to have one or more shots which looks like a massive price. England will probably obtain at least a couple of free kicks in dangerous shooting positions and if Trippier is on the field, then he would be the prime candidate to take them.
Malta vs England
16th June kick off 19:45 Kieran Trippier 1+ shotsMalta vs England matchups to watch
Steve Borg vs Harry Kane
Joseph Mbong vs Marcus Rashford
Yannick Yankam vs Conor Gallagher
The midfield matchup between Yannick Yankam and Gallagher will be interesting and Gallagher to produce one or more fouls could be worth adding to your Malta vs England bet builder. Malta will come under significant pressure for most of this game though and both wingbacks, Joseph Mbong in particular could be tested. Someone is going to have to handle Harry Kane and it will probably fall on the shoulders of experienced centre back Steve Borg.
Malta VS England BET BUILDER TIPS AND PICKS OF THE PACK
I’ll be posting my bet builder for the game once lineups are announced, so make sure to head over to the Live Tips Page if you’re interested in what’s on offer.
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