How to bet Montenegro vs England - Finding value in away win
Having kicked off their European Championship qualifying campaign in sensational fashion at Wembley last week, England travel to Montenegro in a bid to pick up maximum points once more.
Gareth Southgate’s young lions made light work of the Czech Republic on Friday night - the side believed to be their biggest threat to top spot in Group A - and will make the trip to Podgorica in high spirits.
There are likely to be a few changes to the lineup that started the 5-0 win last time out, with Eric Dier definitely out and both Dele Alli and Jadon Sancho doubts due to fitness concerns. There may well be first senior starts for Declan Rice and Callum Hudson-Odoi as a result, while there is likely to be one significant change for the hosts too.
Former Manchester City centre-back Stefan Savic wasn’t fit to play any part in Bulgaria last week but is expected to return, which is certainly a boost to Ljubisa Tumbakovic’s side. The Atletico defender will wear the armband too, with captain Stevan Jovetic sidelined, and as far as the attack is concerned, Montenegro’s options are limited.
That’s compared to previous meetings between these two any way, when former Roma and Juventus forward Mirko Vucinic partnered Jovetic up front and Montenegro caused England problems. Three of their four encounters have ended in draws after all, though the latest was a 4-1 win for the Three Lions and given England’s improvements and their hosts regression since anything other than a comfortable away win would be a surprise.
Our first tip, then, is on the visitors to win by two or more goals, with multiple bookmakers offering the chance to double your money on such an outcome. That comes in in terms of prices as slightly longer than England to win to nil, though Marathon Bet have odds of 2.01 on that market too, which is well worth considering given England’s record in major tournament qualifiers in particular.
Indeed, tonight’s travellers have kept a clean sheet in 21 of 27 qualifiers since 2013 and ten of 13 away from home in that time. Throw in the fact that Montenegro have failed to score in four of their last six home games in all competitions and the option of combining both bets - England to win by 2+ goals and without conceding - looks a tempting option.
You can do just that with Bet365’s bet builder tool for odds of 2.60, but to stretch the price even further a look at the England scorer market is worth a look considering the selection of a comfortable victory.
Raheem Sterling: Last 7 competitive starts
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) March 23, 2019
🆚 Chelsea ⚽️⚽️⭐️
🆚 Schalke ⚽️⭐️
🆚 Chelsea ❌
🆚 Bournemouth ❌
🆚 Watford ⚽️⚽️⚽️⭐️
🆚 Schalke ⚽️🅰️
🆚 Czech Republic ⚽️⚽️⚽️⭐️
For more player stats -- https://t.co/NcTUJBnE0k pic.twitter.com/1jegKjm8p2
The most likely candidate is, of course, Harry Kane but picking the England captain to find the net only boosts the odds to 3.40. Instead the odds on Raheem Sterling to add to his hat-trick on Friday look long considering his form for both club and country this season - with five goals in his last three international appearances.
Backing the Manchester City forward to score at anytime, along with England to win by 2+ goals and to nil is our bet builder tip then, with odds of 5.50 offering a tasty potential profit.