WHEN it comes to qualifying England never have any problems – they only occur when they get there.
Once again Gareth Southgate's men have made a perfect start with convincing wins against Czech Republic and Montenegro.
Six points from their forthcoming double header against Bulgaria and Kosovo will almost seal the deal and a squad packed with talent is unlikely to slip up.
First up at Wembley tonight are Bulgaria who lie bottom of Group A after two draws and two defeats.
England beat their rivals 3-0 and 4-0 in qualifying for 2012 and a similar result is expected.
Southgate's side are no bigger than 1-10 at Ladbrokes so we need to look at the handicaps with England backable minus two at 10-11 with Ladbrokes. The brave could go minus three at 23-10 with Paddy Power.
The home men are unlikely to concede against a side with no stars and plenty of domestic-based players. To win to nil England are 2-5 with boylesports which is fine on accas.
Skipper Harry Kane is set to lead the line and the Spurs star is 11-5 with Betway to score first.
He's rightly favourite but Southgate has so much firepower it might be better going with an anytime scorer at a better price once teams are confirmed.
Options include Norwich midfielder James Maddison at 2-1 with Coral or even Liverpool wing-back Trent Alexander-Arnold at 9-1 with sportingbet.
The other match in England's group is Kosovo v Czech Republic and there should be goals. Both to score pays 19-20 at Marathonbet.
European champions and Nations League winners Portugal have all their big guns available and I fancy Cristiano Ronaldo, Bernardo Silva, Joao Felix and Co so shoot down Serbia in Belgrade.
The Serbs have blown hot and cold in Group B and changed boss after a 5-0 defeat to Ukraine.
Portugal started with home draws against Ukraine and Serbia so it's time to get going and they are 6-5 at bet365 to pick up all three points.
Ronaldo will again be the man to watch and is 16-5 at Unibet to score first and 5-4 to net at any time.
Leaders Ukraine travel to bottom feeders Lithuania but an away win pays no bigger than 1-3.
Tonight's other games are in Group H with leaders France extremely short at home to Albania. Antoine Griezmann has started the season well at new club Barcelona and is 3-1 at Betway to break the deadlock.
Finding value from Turkey v Andorra isn't easy but what about the home side to score in both halves on an acca at 4-11 with Ladbrokes.
Turkey and Iceland both have nine points from four games so it's clear they're fighting for second spot behind France. Iceland are 2-7 to beat Moldova and if you want to add risk try Iceland -1 at 5-6 with betfair.
Recommended Bets
- England -2 or England -3
- Kane to score first
- Maddison to score
- Kosovo v Czech Rep btts
- Ronaldo to score
- Griezmann to score first
- Iceland -1
Resident football tipster at Scotland's most read newspaper, the Daily Record, for over 20 years and proud host of one the best betting communities on the web with daily betting tips.
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