ENGLAND could all-but seal their place at next winter's World Cup when they welcome Hungary to Wembley on Tuesday night.
Gareth Southgate's side are almost there now after Saturday's predictably routine stroll to victory against minnows Andorra, on a night where my recommended Bet Builder banked.
That five-star performance cemented the Three Lions place at the summit of the section, having won all but one of their seven qualifying matches thus far.
England chief Southgate rang the changes in Andorra but the hosts should revert to their strongest lineup when Hungary come calling on Tuesday night.
The Hungarians have much work to do if they are to qualify for next year's World Cup following Saturday's damaging 1-0 defeat to Albania in Budapest.
Marco Rossi's men gave a good account of themselves at Euro 2020 but it would take nothing short of a miracle for Hungary to book their tickets to Qatar now.
Outright Betting
England have won each of their last 12 World Cup qualifiers on home soil and another Three Lions success is a best 3/19 at SBK
Hungary's last victory against England came at the 1962 World Cup and the bookies odds suggest that long wait will continue, with the visitors' 22/1 (SBK) outsiders to triumph while the stalemate is an unfancied 39/5 (SBK) with the same bookmaker.
Betting Angles
There is no value in backing the hosts to win here so I'll dip into the Bet Builder feature and combine over one England goal, over zero Hungary cards and Harry Kane to score anytime, a 5/6 shot at Bet 365.
Gareth Southgate has an awesome array of attacking talent and his star-studded side have notched up at least two strikes in all bar one of their three Group I fixtures so far.
That does not bode well for a demoralised Hungary side that are without a clean sheet in each of their last eight competitive contests, a sample that includes two meetings with lowly Andorra.
With that in mind, I'll happily back England to score at least two goals on Tuesday night, but I'll also throw a minimum of one Hungarian card into the mix – Marco Rossi's men have gone into the book at least once in each of their last 10 meaningful matches.
Given the likelihood of Southgate recalling his big-hitters, coupled with the fact that Harry Kane has racked up nine strikes in 13 appearances for the Three Lions this calendar year, I'll round off the Bet Builder by backing the England captain to make the net bulge.
The aforementioned combination has clicked in each of England's three Group I successes when Kane has been selected to start and I'm more than happy to support the same formula at Wembley on Tuesday night.
I'll also have a stab at a second Bet Builder by merging England half time/full time and over zero second-half goals for England, an appetising 20/21 (Bet 365) play.
The above-mentioned Bet Builder would have paid in each of England's three section home games so far and I see no reason to oppose a repeat under the arch this midweek.
This World Cup match between England and Hungary will be played on Oct 12, 2021 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best England vs Hungary prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
