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England might be sitting at the top of the Group C table but after the performance against Denmark, even the most loyal of fans must be questioning if Gareth Southgate knows what he is doing.
It was a truly awful performance, the players looked lost, they couldn’t string two passes together and individuals who have shone for their clubs looked a shadow of themselves.
The media haven’t been slow in expressing their opinions and it would be fair to say that the pressure is on Gareth Southgate and his merry men.
Slovenia, on the other hand, has been a revelation, we couldn’t have been more impressed by their results so far, a draw against Denmark, a game in which they played so well and a draw against Serbia with their opponents equalising deep into injury time.
Odds and Predictions
The big question here has to be whether Gareth Southgate can put right whatever is wrong with the England camp.
Something is a miss and as Gary Lineker and his fellow pundits pointed out, it is as if the England players just don’t have a game plan, they don’t know what they are doing.
England are the favourites at odds of 1.36, Slovenia are priced at 9.50 and the odds for the draw are 4.75.
Our hearts are hoping for an England win, but the first of our predictions is a draw, with a scoreline of 1 – 1 at 10.0.
The last one of our tips is on the ‘Double Chance’ market, ‘Draw or Slovenia’ and to be honest, we feel that there is a good chance Slovenia will actually win this game.
Who’d have thought we’d have been saying that at the beginning of the tournament?
Comparison and Statistics from Past Meetings between the Teams
England and Slovenia have played each other head-to-head a total of six times.
England has won five of these matches, with one match ending in a draw.
The last five H2H matches between the two teams are listed below.
| Past Meetings | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 05 Oct 2017 | england | 1-0 | slovenia | FIFA World Cup Qualifier |
| 11 Oct 2016 | slovenia | 0-0 | england | FIFA World Cup Qualifier |
| 14 Jun 2015 | slovenia | 2-3 | england | UEFA European Championship Qualifier |
| 15 Nov 2014 | england | 3-1 | slovenia | UEFA European Championship Qualifier |
| 23 Jun 2010 | slovenia | 0-1 | england | FIFA World Cup |
Expected Line Ups
The big question is, does Gareth Southgate have the bottle to drop Harry Kane? We believe it is extremely doubtful, but surely, giving Ollie Watkins a start would freshen things up a bit.
Luke Shaw hasn’t played yet due to injury, but most England fans will hope that he is fit to face Slovenia.
England (4-3-3): Jordan Pickford; Kyle Walker, John Stones, Marc Guéhi, Luke Shaw; Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden; Bukayo Saka, Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling.
Slovenia (4-4-2): Jan Oblak; Petar Stojanović, Jaka Bijol, Jon Gorenc Stanković, Erik Janža; Benjamin Verbič, Sandi Lovrić, Adam Gnezda Čerin, Jasmin Kurtić; Benjamin Šeško, Andraž Šporar.
How Far Will These Teams Progress in the Tournament?
Slovenia and Denmark are both on two points and if they both win their last match, England will finish group C in 3rd place and not be guaranteed a place in the group of 16!
The most likely outcome is that England will get a draw and qualify and Slovenia will end up leaving the competition at the group stages, but this is such a tight group anything could happen.
Even Serbia could end up playing in the group of 16 if everything goes their way.
