Montenegro v England - EURO 2020 Qualifiers
March 25th 2019; Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica
After an impressive start of EURO 2020 qualifiers, England will hope to add another 3 points and cement their position as the leaders in group A. On the other side, Montenegro will look for points, despite knowing even a single point is a longshot.
England national team come into this match after an impressive performance against the Czech Republic on Friday when they trashed the visitors with a 5:0 win. This was a great start of their EURO 2020 campaign and they will surely look to build on the impressive result and add another W tonight when they face off against Montenegro. The win against the Czech Republic was their 4th win in a row and it marked the 6th consecutive international match they had not lost. It's a nice change of form for England who failed to live up to their name in recent years. The mostly empty seats at Wembley in recent years speak for themselves, however, this just might have changed this year. Looking back at their 5:0 win against the Czech Republic, England were not only a better team (obviously), they played good football overall. They looked like they enjoy playing the game which is something we have not seen in the England team for a while. Nonetheless, the expectations are high for England to perform up to par once again and prove to the world they are serious of achieving something.
Montenegro falls into a category of teams that never qualified for a major tournament, which just might change this year. Looking at the qualifying group, England is more or less guaranteed to end up on top, however, there is still a spot for one more team. Paired with Bulgaria, Kosovo and Czech Republic, Montenegro have a decent chance to finally get a ticket to a major tournament. Looking at their opening match of the qualifiers, Montenegro had a great start, playing a draw against Bulgaria, who were the favourites, but failed to live up to that name. In fact, the Montenegrian squad could have easily gone home with all 3 points, but Bulgaria managed to equalize in the 82nd minute from a penalty kick. All in all, a positive, yet frustrating result for Montenegro in Sofia.
Verdict & Prediction
While it would be exceptional for Montenegro to grab at least a point in the upcoming fixture, I don't believe they have the quality to do so. Montenegro is aware that their dream of finishing 2nd in the group will come down to the matches against Bulgaria, Kosovo and Czech Republic, as England is just superior to any other team in the group. Montenegro will enjoy the home advantage in the upcoming fixture, however, we must keep in mind, they are not playing much better at home. Ever since 2015, they only managed to defeat Moldova, Lichtenstein, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Romania and Lithuania at home. Furthermore, they are 1-1-4 in the last 6 fixtures in Podgorica. England on the other side travel to Southeastern Europe eager to once again leave a statement. Their players have been just exceptional, especially Sterling, who scored 10 goals in the last 7 starts for both club and England and is coming into the match after a hat-trick against the Czech Republic. Add him to the Harry Kane and Jadon Sancho duo and you have got a potent frontline capable of filling opponents goal. All in all, this should end up in yet another win for England, who won't hold back against Montenegro who managed to draw against England in Podgorica in 2011 and 2013.
Prediction: England -1.50 Asian Handicap