Finland are set to take on England on Sunday, 13 October in a match that suddenly feels very important to Lee Carsley and the Three Lions after their shock defeat to Greece on Thursday night.
That result at Wembley has left England in second place in League B Group Two, and now need to ensure they win every match they play until they meet Greece again to leave their fate in their own hands.
Finland, meanwhile, are currently rock bottom of the group and another loss here would leave them all but certain to face relegation to League C.
How the bookies view it: England start as huge favourites
England's defeat to Greece hasn't made the bookies change their price for this one, with the visitors starting as the 2/7 favourites with Betano. A win for Finland has been priced at 10/1, while a draw, which would be considered another bad result for England, has been priced at 9/2.
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Recent head-to-head: All signs point towards an England win
England and Finland have come up against each other on seven previous occasions, and Finland are yet to win any of them. The Three Lions have won five of the seven clashes, with the other two finishing all square – both of those results occurred in Helsinki.
The most recent clash came just last month in a match that England won 2-0 thanks to a second-half double from Harry Kane.
Players to watch: It's time for Angel instead
Lee Carsley raised eyebrows last month when he called up Lille's Angel Gomes to the England squad for the first time. The diminutive midfielder has been a key cog in England's youth teams but had always failed to capture the attention of Gareth Southgate.
Carsley, who has worked with Gomes for the past couple of years with the England under-21s, knows exactly what the former Man Utd man can do and threw him in from the start in England's previous match with Finland and he was one of the best players on the pitch.
Interestingly, he didn't play a single minute in the loss to Greece, which likely means he was being saved for this one. Given England's midfield's poor performance on Thursday night, he could provide them with some much-needed calm and class on the ball.
Predicted line-ups
England will likely be without their captain on Sunday evening, with Harry Kane unlikely to be risked as he continues to recover from injury. Bukayo Saka will also miss out after hobbling off against Greece. Finland's only injury absentee is Kaan Kairinen, but there could be a recall for Teemu Pukki, who missed out against Ireland.
Finland: Hradecky – Stahl, Hoskonen, Ivanov, Uronen – Peltola, Schuller – Lod, Kamara, Antman – Pukki
England: Pickford – Alexander-Arnold, Guehi, Colwill, Lewis – Rice, Gomes – Palmer, Bellingham, Gordon – Watkins
Anything else catch the eye?
England haven't scored more than two goals in a game in any of their last 11 outings while Finland haven't conceded more than two goals in a home match since 2016. England to score under 2.5 goals on Sunday evening has been priced at 8/15 at various bookies.
This UEFA Nations League match between Finland and England will be played on Oct 13, 2024 and kick off at 17:00. Check below for our tipsters best Finland vs England prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
