Soccer

Nations League - Football: England v Germany preview

bet365 News Team Published: Sep 25 2022 18:09

Relegation has already been confirmed for England ahead of their final Group A3 encounter against Germany at Wembley on Monday.

Friday's 1-0 loss against Italy at the San Siro in Milan ensured England would be heading to League B for the 2023/24 edition of the Nations League.

Germany haven't fared much better across the current campaign but they could still finish as high as second if they earn a win on Monday and Italy fail to beat Hungary.

Nations League: England and Germany renew rivalry

What	England v Germany, Nations League
Where	Wembley Stadium, London
When	Monday, 26th September 2022
How to watch	Channel 4
Odds	England 11/8, Draw 23/10, Germany 2/1

Three Lions left playing for pride

With just one game left to play in Group A3 and relegation already a certainty for England, it's now just a matter of playing for pride.

Gareth Southgate would have been hoping to have some momentum going into England's final competitive match ahead of the 2022 World Cup. However, the current situation couldn't be further from that.

England have failed to win a single group match, losing three and drawing two, and they've found the back of the net just once across those five games.

For a nation that made it through to the final of Euro 2020 and reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup, things appear to be heading in the wrong direction.

Successive losses to Hungary earlier in the campaign, including a 4-0 defeat at Molineux, have arguably been the low point for England and it's difficult to see how things could turn around in time for Monday's outing.

Hitting the back of the net has been the major issue for the Three Lions, scoring just once in the Nations League, and they are now on the verge of going three matches without a goal for the first time since 2000.

They have created more chances than their opponents in four of the five games so far, but applying that finishing touch has proven a step too far.

Indeed, England's only goal in the group stage came in a 1-1 draw against Germany in Munich but that was from the penalty spot.

Backing under 2.5 goals, which is available at 8/11, looks the way to go here, especially when considering each of Germany's last three visits to England have contained fewer than three goals.

Value lies with Germany

Germany can be backed at 2/1 to pick up all three points on Monday and, although their form isn't much to write home about, they have looked slightly more competitive than England in the Nations League.

Hansi Flick would undoubtedly have been disappointed to fall to a 1-0 defeat against Hungary last time out but that was their first loss since going down 2-0 against England at Euro 2020.

They were unbeaten in 13 prior to Friday's result and they look well priced to get back to winning ways at Wembley.

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A 5-2 win over Italy in June demonstrated that they can't be underestimated and they were close to beating England in the reverse fixture until Harry Kane slotted home an 88th-minute penalty.

Germany are unbeaten in eight away fixtures, not including games in a major competition, and have collected five victories during that sequence.

Werner looking to strike on London return

Timo Werner's struggles in England have been extremely well-publicised, having scored just 10 goals in 56 Premier League appearances during a two-year stay at Chelsea.

The 26-year-old arrived in England with a lot of hype after netting 28 in 34 Bundesliga outings for RB Leipzig in 2019/20, but his form just didn't transfer to the Premier League.

He opted to cut ties with Chelsea this summer in favour of a return to Leipzig and he's already looking much more settled, registering four times in nine appearances across all competitions.

Germany boss Flick isn't blessed with many options to play through the middle and Werner is expected to retain his spot in the XI on Monday, despite misfiring against Hungary last time out.

Werner has already notched twice for Die Mannschaft in the 2022/23 Nations League, making him the joint-top scorer for his nation, and he looks a strong candidate to score anytime at 5/2.