Big Match Breakdown: Colombia v England
Published:
Odds, tips and preview ahead of last-16 tie
England and Colombia clash in Moscow this evening with a place in the World Cup quarter-final at stake.
Both nations will have their eyes on the prize following the early demise of Spain, Germany and Argentina from the tournament. Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions are on the kinder side of the draw and have been installed as fourth-favourites for the trophy as a result.
They comfortably qualified from the group stages and must now face a Colombia side that have grown into the competition after a slow start.
It’s all set up to be a nervy night in the capital city. And it’s one the Coral News Team have previewed with a Big Match Breakdown.
Head-to-Head
The big stat ahead of this evening’s match is that England are unbeaten in all five meetings against Colombia dating back to 1970. The Three Lions have emerged triumphant on three of those occasions, including during the 1998 World Cup when Darren Anderton and David Beckham scored in a 2-0 win.
Sven-Goran Eriksson was in charge the last time the two sides met in 2005. Michael Owen bagged a hat-trick that day as England edged a friendly encounter 3-2 at Giants Stadium in New York.
Likely XIs
Southgate looks set to revert to a similar XI to the one which demolished Panama 6-1 nine days ago. Harry Kane, Jordan Henderson et al will all come back in. Dele Alli is also back fit but could lose out after impressive back-to-back performances from Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
Colombia are sweating on the fitness of talisman James Rodriguez. The 26-year-old was forced off against Senegal and is in a race against time to be ready for tonight’s match. Should he miss out, Luis Muriel will likely take his place in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Key Battles
Both sides will likely trade off their pace in attack and prowess from set-pieces. Kane provides the threat for the Three Lions, but arguably it’s Colombia’s Radamel Falcao who has the potential to do more damage.
The Monaco ace will drag England’s defence across the pitch in an attempt to create space for his colleagues. Harry Maguire and co. will need to be on their game or it could be a difficult evening.
The Three Lions have pacey forwards of their own, and will look towards Jesse Lingard and Raheem Sterling to run at the defence and open up space for Kane.
Yerry Mina and John Stones have scored two apiece so far in Russia. They will provide a significant aerial threat for their respective nations.
Match Odds
England are favourites for the match at 11/10. You can back Colombia at 3/1, with the draw priced at 2/1.
As the Coral News Team alluded to, this one looks set to be all about to key forward players. Kane is the current proprietor of the World Cup Golden Boot and can be had at 3/1 to Score First and 6/5 to bag Anytime.
Falcao broke his World Cup duck against Poland in the group stages and is 11/5 to add to his tally here. Our traders go 11/2 that he has the final word and Scores Last. Stones (12/1 Anytime) and Mina (8/1) could also trouble the net from dead ball situations.
Alternatively it’s 5/4 for Both Teams to Score and 8/15 for Over 1.5 Goals. You can back Over 2.5 Goals at 33/20.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
