Euro 2024

Serbia vs England Euro 2024 Prediction

England start their Euro 2024 campaign against Serbia at the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday.

Gareth Southgate’s were runners-up on home soil three years ago and despite heading into this year’s tournament as the bookmakers’ favourite I am anything but convinced they will get past the quarter-final stage.

First things first though, they could do with a winning start. The Three Lions were excellent in qualifying but were horrendous in the UEFA Nations League and lost their final friendly 1-0 to Iceland in the build up to this tournament. Question marks have been raised about the defence which could see Crystal Palace’s Marc Geuhi partner John Stones. Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford is anything but elite in his position.

On Sunday, England should dictate the game and dominate possession. Trent Alexander-Arnold is expected to play alongside Declan Rice in front of the back four as a result. And an exciting trio of Bukaya Sako, Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden supporting Harry Kane should make for one of the most exciting attacks this summer. If only the manager was more tactically inept though.

Serbia finished runners-up to Hungary in qualifying, taking 7 points both at home and away. They were beaten 2-1 twice by Hungary though, with Montenegro, Lithuania and Bulgaria hardly offering much of a challenge.

Dragan Stojkovic does have a number of goalscorers in his squad – Aleksandar Mitrovic, Dusan Vlahovic and Luka Jovic. But how much supply will they be able to get to them if they sit back in a defensive formation? Nemanja Maksimovic, Nemanja Gudelj and Sasa Lukic could all be employed to do that in front of the back four.

Defensive frailties aside, I think England have an abundance of pace and firepower to open up the Serbia defence and outscore the opposition in this one. I don’t see value in backing England at short odds, so look in the goals market for value.

Best bet: England to win and both teams to score is 13/5 with Bet365
Value bet: Jude Bellingham is 14/1 to score a header with Bet365 Bet Builder