Slovenia and England will aim to continue their pursuit of the Czech Republic when they meet in a Group H UEFA U21 Championship qualifiers at Stadion Z'dezele. Slovenia have already been beaten at home in the qualifiers and could find things difficult against the Young Lions.
Slovenia earned a 1-0 victory over Andorra in their previous fixture in the qualifiers. They were not at their best in a closely fought encounter but secured the win thanks to Dusan Stojinovic’s effort midway through the second half.
It has been an unconvincing start to the qualifiers for Slovenia who suffered a 1-0 home defeat to Czech Republic in their opening fixture. Milenko Acimovic's men are third on the table, three points behind Group leaders Czech Republic.
Slovenia's general form has also been poor in recent weeks with just one win from their last 10 matches across all competitions.
England have played just one match in the qualifiers, beating Kosovo 2-0 in their opening fixture. They made a fast start and raced to an early lead through Rhian Brewster while Cole Palmer added the second midway through the first half.
Lee Carsley's men are attempting to bounce back from a disappointing showing in this summer’s UEFA U21 Championship where they finished bottom of their group. They are ahead of the Slovenians on goal difference and will fancy their chances of coming out on top on Thursday.
Despite their poor showing at the European Championships, England have been generally formidable at this level. They have won seven of their last 10 matches, stretching back to September 2020.
How the bookies view it
England are considered overwhelming favourites among the bookies at 12/25 with novibet. A victory for Slovenia is valued at 7/1 with SBK, who is also offering odds of 17/5 for a draw.
Head to head
There has been only one previous match between Slovenia U21 and England U21 with both teams playing out a 2-2 draw in a friendly back in 2019.
Players to watch
Aljosa Matko leads the line for Slovenia and often provides the attacking spark for the team. The striker will be the go-to-man if the Slovenians are to find the net on Thursday at 77/100 with Vbet.
England have plenty of quality going forward with Emile Smith-Rowe and Noni Madueke in good form for Arsenal and PSV respectively. They have scored in their last two matches and both men can ensure that run continues at 1/11 with Vbet.
Anything else catch the eye?
Given England’s solid defensive record lately, BTTS NO could be on the cards at 4/5 with SBK. The visitors earned a win to nil in their opening fixture and could be set for a similar result at 5/4 with BetVictor.
A -1 handicap for England can also be considered at 13/10 with novibet.
This match between Slovenia U21s and England U21s will be played on Oct 7, 2021 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Slovenia U21s vs England U21s prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.