Born in the south east of Ireland, Simon put his life-long love of football to good use when he started a successful independent blog in 2010. That opened up an alternative route to a career in journalism, and having had work published across a number of sites and publications, Simon joined the staff at Spotlight Sports Group in 2018.
The Euro 2020 qualification campaign enters its final throes this week, and even though the Group Stage’s climactic fixtures are on the horizon there is still plenty to play far.
As things stand, Gareth Southgate’s free-scoring England team are the only home nation guaranteed a place at next summer’s finals, with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland’s chances of joining them ranging from wafer to paper thin.
On Saturday, Scotland will need to beat Cyprus in Nicosia to stand any chance of being in the right position to capitalise on any fallout from the Russian doping scandal in Group I.
Wales’ slender hopes of making the cut in Group E can only be maintained by winning in Azerbaijan the same day, while Northern Ireland must find a way to turn over a strong Netherlands team at Windsor Park to prolong their chase for qualification from Group C.
On Sunday, England close out their hugely successful qualification journey with a trip to play Kosovo in Pristina, in a fixture where several of the Three Lions’ fringe players are expected to feature from the start.
Ahead of what promises to be another frantic scramble for Group Stage points, we’ve compiled a selection of Home Nations betting tips to sink your teeth in to. Check them out below.
Remember – we’ll be covering all of the action in detail, with betting tips for each of this week’s Euro 2020 qualification fixtures on our match previews page.
Cyprus vs Scotland (Group I, Nov 16th)
Pieros Soteriou to score anytime
Scotland have had a Euro 2020 qualification campaign to forget. Five defeats in eight matches is a miserable return for a team that was expected to fare far better against a relatively weak looking field in Group I.
Back-to-back victories over Group whipping boys San Marino account for two of the Scots three wins, and Cyprus, who sit one place above Scotland in the standings will be confident that they can take advantage of their visitor’s current crisis in confidence and poor form.
Our experts have backed Cyprus to beat Scotland on Saturday, and we think their centre-forward Pieros Soteriou can get among the goals.
The Copenhagen striker is in fine goal-getting form, notching five goals in his last nine starts for club and country overall since early October.
Azerbaijan vs Wales (Group E, Nov 16th)
Wales under 1.5 team total goals
World Cup semi finalists Wales have fallen well below the lofty standards they set for themselves during their Group E programme, and The Dragons’ inability to carve teams open in the final third has been a major factor in their underperformance.
Ahead of their pivotal meeting with Azerbaijan on Saturday, Wales scored just six times in six Group E fixtures – a haul that makes them the section’s second lowest scorers behind their hosts this weekend (five).
Wales plundered just two of their six goals away from home, and we think the Dragons’ somewhat ironic toothlessness in attack will hamstring their chances of victory again on their latest travel assignment.
Looking for more Azerbaijan vs Wales predictions? Read our detailed match preview to read our FREE betting tips for the game.
Northern Ireland vs Netherlands (Group C, Nov 16th)
Jonny Evans to get booked
Sparks are certain to fly when Northern Ireland meet the Netherlands in a make or break top of the table Group C encounter at Windsor Park on Saturday evening.
Skipper and key central defender Jonny Evans is Northern Irelands’ best player, though the highly-regarded 31-year old was caught cold in the reverse fixture between the teams in Rotterdam last month.
Evans put in what was arguably is worst individual shift of the season during the Dutch side’s 3-1 win, and the Leicester City centre half picked up a booking on the hour mark, as he struggled to cope with the Netherlands’ pacey front line.
Remarkably, Evans tops the yellow card count for both his country (two) and his club (three for Leicester) this season, and we think his patchy disciplinary record makes him a prime candidate to be shown yellow again this weekend.
Read our analyst’s Northern Ireland vs Netherlands betting tips for more exclusive predictions.
Kosovo vs England (Group A, Nov 17th)
Tammy Abraham to score anytime
Having watched his team secure their place at next summer’s finals with a game to spare, Gareth Southgate could choose to blood some of England’s younger players for their final Group A match against Kosovo on Sunday – and Chelsea hot-shot Tammy Abraham could benefit from the personnel reshuffle.
Abraham came off the bench to net England’s 7th goal against Montenegro on Thursday, and the strike, which was his first senior goal for his country, felt like a watershed moment for the rapidly developing 22-year old.
With 10 goals in 12 Premier League appearances for Chelsea, Abraham has quickly established himself as one of the deadliest finishers in England’s top flight this term, and the Blues’ academy product has the confidence and quality to make another goal-scoring impact if given the chance in Pristina.
You can find more free Kosovo vs England predictions and betting tips in our detailed match preview.
A 4-fold acca featuring each of the home nations betting tips above is available at whopping 51/1 odds with bet365!
Looking for more international football tips and predictions? Check out our free football betting tips page now!
