England vs Finland: Prediction, Preview & Betting Tips

England are sure-fire favourites heading into their second group game against Finland. Under the new era of Lee Carsley, England hopes to assert dominance against a Finland side already bottom of the table.

The recent meetings between the sides suggest nothing more than an England win should suffice as Finland are winless in their last 11 against the Three Lions - losing nine. Finland are winless in their last three, which included the opening game defeat against Greece.

The visitors have been the first to concede in four of their last five without a clean sheet in their previous six. In the last four games for Finland, they have conceded at least two goals.

Under Lee Carsley, England already looks more assured with attacking intent and will undoubtedly get the win here via a comfortable scoreline.

We predict England 3-0 Finland for this game.

The UEFA Nations League is underway as teams, particularly, will seek to establish their aims and ambitions early on. Lee Carsley takes charge of his second game as interim England manager as the Three Lions host Finland at Wembley.

Date: 10/09/2024
Location: Wembley Stadium
Kick-Off: 7.45 pm

Lee Carsley took the helm of the national job following an eight-year spell under Gareth Southgate, in which reflecting upon his tenure left fans questioning the ultimate end goal. Under Southgate, the national side reached two European Championship finals, although they fell short when the big games mattered. Lee Carsley was appointed, continuing this recent tradition of promoting the youth team manager to the senior level.

Carsley, a former Everton and Birmingham City midfielder, achieved success with the youth setup of the England national team by winning the Under21 European Championship last year and will benefit from leading a similar age group of players into the Nations League. England will look to avenge their woes in this competition after the Three Lions suffered relegation in the previous campaign at the hands of Germany, Hungary and Italy.

England’s first game was against the Republic of Ireland, so Carsley's new-look England side was superb in the first 60 minutes of the match. Declan Rice and Jack Grealish were of focus because of their past affiliation with the Republic of Ireland. However, they both showed composure and class to score England’s goals.

The second goal from Grealish was excellent in the flow of the play and the progressive build-up, which was severely lacking in Southgate’s reign. Trent Alexander-Arnold showcased why he should have perhaps been starting ahead of Kyle Walker in the European Championships, as the Liverpool defender was class throughout, and he almost provided an assist for Anthony Gordon, but the Newcastle United forward had his effort saved.

Finland should be walkovers for England with Carsley’s side in complete confidence. The visitors began their UEFA Nations League campaign, with a 3-0 loss to Greece and are considered the weakest side in the group. The recent meetings between the sides suggest nothing more than an England win should suffice as Finland are winless in their last 11 against the Three Lions - losing nine. Finland are winless in their previous three, which included the opening game defeat against Greece.

The game will be shown on ITV.

England are not likely to rotate as much during Lee Carsley’s early reign as England manager.

England's possible starting lineup:
Pickford; Alexander-Arnold, Guehi, Maguire, Colwill; Mainoo, Rice, Grealish; Saka, Kane, Gordon

Finland's possible starting lineup:
Hradecky; Stahl, Hoskonen, Ivanov, Uronen; Peltola, Nissila; Lod, Kamara, Antman; Pohjanpalo

As mentioned earlier, England has the historical advantage in this fixture, with Finland not winning in their last 11 against the Three Lions. The previous meeting took place in 2001 in England as the home side ran out 2-1 winners thanks to goals from David Beckham and Michael Owen, which helped England along the way in qualifying for the 2002 World Cup.

England have won their last two home fixtures in which they were designated home team, although at Wembley, they would be hoping for better fortunes on home soil. The Three Lions have only won once in their last five at Wembley, which took place against Bosnia & Herzegovina before the European Championships this summer. England suffered the ignominy of losing to Iceland once again at Wembley before the tournament in Germany. England have won four of their last five competitive games, with the only defeat against Spain in the European Championship final.

As for the visitors, they enter this game in worse form than Lee Carsley’s side. Following the defeat against Greece, Finland are now on a run of one win in their last five fixtures. The visitors have been the first to concede in four of their last five without a clean sheet in their previous six. In the last four games for Finland, they have conceded at least two goals, with three conceded against Greece, leaving them in a precarious position after game one in the Nations League. One of their more notable victories in the past year, was a 4-0 humbling of Northern Ireland.

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