Poland - England Betting Preview: Hodgson to extend unbeaten run with Warsaw win

Poland - England Betting Preview: Hodgson to extend unbeaten run with Warsaw win at the second attempt

Oct 17, 2012 3:02:00 PM

The Three Lions are eyeing three points on their travels against the Poles in thier rescheduled World Cup qualifier. Adam Bate expects the visitors to have the final say

After the game intially scheduled for Tuesday was called off to a waterlogged pitch, England and Poland will try again on Wednesday afternoon.

Penalty shootouts aside, Roy Hodgson is on a 10-game unbeaten run sincee taking over as England manager in May and he’ll be keen to extend that run in Poland on Wednesday.

England looked to have damaged their hopes of a comfortable passage from Group H when they could only draw at home to Ukraine last month.

But Oleg Blokhin’s men slipped up in Moldova last week and that means the Three Lions will be in a strong position if they pick up three points in Warsaw. England are 10/11 (1.91) with Bet365 to do just that.

Poland are without Jakub Blaszczykowski for this crucial qualifier but have won seven of their last eight internationals at home, excluding the high-pressured environment of Euro 2012.

Poland are 3/1 (4.00) with Bet365 to upset England’s World Cup ambitions here. The draw is available at 12/5 (3.40).

In the other markets, it is worth noting that Poland faded against Czech Republic and 10-men Greece in Euro 2012. They also conceded a last-minute winner in Estonia in August.

In contrast, England have netted the last goal in eight of their 10 games under Hodgson and have a hungry squad after the fringe players’ efforts against San Marino on Friday.

England are 8/13 (1.62) to score last with Bet365 and that’s the pick of the bets in this one.

There are a number of contenders to get that goal and Jermain Defoe will fancy his chances of being on the scoresheet. Defoe is 5/1 (6.00) with Bet365 to score first.

For Poland, Borussia Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski is 6/1 (7.00) to get the opener.

But the real value is in backing in-form England forward Wayne Rooney. He’s 9/2 (5.50) to open the scoring, 8/1 (9.00) to get a two goals and 40/1 (41.00) for the hat-trick.

And yet, the value bet is simply to take the industry-best price of 7/5 (2.40) with Bet365 for the Manchester United man to score at any time.

Hodgson will hope that’s enough to extend his unbeaten start to 11 games and within one of Graham Taylor’s record run.

BET

OF THE

DAY

BEST BET

VALUE BET

England to score last at 8/13 (1.62) with Bet365

Rooney anytime scorer at 7/5 (2.40) with Bet365

Sign up with Bet365 for up to £250 in free bets

Adam Bate is a professional freelance journalist who specialises in football and betting. He is editor of GhostGoal which can be found here - you can also follow Adam on

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Champions League final - LIVE!

German giants Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund will battle it out at Wembley for European glory. Get involved by sending us your thoughts via Twitter or Facebook! Hosted by Mark Doyle.

10:22 PM BST

Terrific stuff from Bayern attacking midfielder Thomas Muller, the kind of socks-around-the-ankles player that I think any true football fan inherently adores.

"It is hard to describe," he told ZDF. "I am completely done, I have cramps left and right. But I did not go off the pitch and it paid off. Physically I am over the limit now.

"When you are 68 years old and you have a record season and then you win the Champions League and have the chance for the triple, you can be happy you are 68 and not 25. Because then you can retire."

10:17 PM BST

An word from Goal Germany correspondent Tim Rohn on a night of redemption for Bayern Munich:

"One year after that bitter loss to Chelsea the Bayern are now the ones dancing on the pitch. BVB gets a farewell with much applause and a scraf parade. No matter that Bayern won: For every german football fan in London this will be a very long night."

10:13 PM BST

Happily, Dortmund's players aren't feeling too down about things. They're proud of what they've done, and rightly so. They've lit up the competition with their fearless brand of football.

"We are proud," Weidenfeller told ZDF. "We stood up to Bayern and we've had a great season in the Champions League. We gave everything and did our best to win that trophy. But we will come back again."

Sebastian Kehl added: "We played a fantastic match and gave a great account of ourselves. We can be proud. And of course we will attack again next season."

10:07 PM BST

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"I heard so many people saying in the last weeks saying they would grant me this. They told me: 'You'll score the goal.' It’s not quite sunk in yet. There’s a lot of emotion.

"You know, this was such a close match. A match with two teams at the same level. It was an even game: they had chances; we had chances. For the goal, though, I just reacted to Franck's flick and then the ball went in."

You'll never hear or read a more simplistic description of the Dutchman's Champions League winner!

10:03 PM BST

Now it's Bayerns turn to climb Wembley's not-as-famous-as-they-used-to-be steps to collect their reward for sweeping all before them in Europe this season. They wait for their captain, Lahm, who takes a moment to compose himself before hoisting the Champions League trophy. After the misery of Munich 12 months ago, Bayern are now basking in the wonder of Wembley. Dortmund were magnificent but few could argue that Bayern have not been the best team in the Champions League this season. They deserve this, their inauguration as the new kings of Europe.

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