Bulgaria vs England Predictions

On Monday night, England take on Bulgaria in Sofia, where Gareth Southgate’s men will attempt to atone for what was a poor effort in Prague on Friday. The hosts will be looking to go two games unbeaten after drawing 0-0 with Montenegro last time out.

By drawing against both Kosovo and Montenegro, the Bulgarians made a reasonably sturdy start to the campaign, though they’ve since taken a few steps in the wrong direction. They looked to be inferior when receiving a battering at Wembley last month, while they also came up short against Kosovo.

Last time out, from a defensive point of view at least, Bulgaria improved slightly, as they drew 0-0 with Montenegro away from home. That said, they weren’t overly tested, while their offensive efforts were typically weak. Producing the goods in the final third has been something of a problem for Krasimir Balakov’s men, who’ve failed to score in each of their last two and who’re averaging just 2.83 shots on target in Group A.

One positive for the Bulgarians is the fact that in terms of goals, their two best attacking performances came at home, where they’ve only played twice.

Unlike the Bulgarians, whose qualification hopes are slight, England are in pole position, though they’re not quite as comfortable as they were ahead of the weekend.

Despite taking an early lead in Prague on Friday night, England struggled to get going. They were ponderous in possession, while a lack of defensive cohesion was apparent, as they allowed the Czech’s to both create chances and scored goals, much as they did against Kosovo a month ago.

For the most part in qualifying, England have flexed their muscles going forward. Prior to their game in Prague, the Three Lions had netted at least four goals in each of their five qualifiers, while they were averaging 3.09 expected goals for, which is very good. However, despite not facing teams of the highest calibre, they haven’t looked secure at the back. Even in games where the opposition has created little, when push has come to shove, Southgate’s men have struggled to resist. The fact that they go into this game having shipped five goals in their last two is certainly a worry.

From a betting point of view, ‘Both Teams to Score’ looks good at the prices. For all the Bulgarians haven’t scored in their last two, they have scored three in two at home, while they’re facing an England back-line that has done anything but cover itself in glory in recent matches. Based on what we’ve seen so far, getting the ball in the net shouldn’t be too much of a problem for the Three Lions, who’re likely to adopt a more intense approach when attacking after Friday’s let-down, but it’s not easy to fancy Southgate’s men to keep a clean sheet. More importantly, recent antics suggest that the chances of both teams scoring are slightly greater than the current odds suggest.