England vs Bulgaria Predictions

England may have only played 2 of their 8 Euro 2020 qualifiers so far, but even now it’s looking like they will be a clear and unsurprising winner of Group A. They sit at the top of the group thanks to a mighty +9 goal difference, ahead of Czech Republic and Kosovo, despite having played a game less than both teams.

The Three Lions’ most recent encounter was in the inaugural Nations League final stages back in June, with an extra-time defeat to Netherlands sending them out at the semi-final stage before they won a third-place playoff on penalties against Switzerland.

These couple of matches perfectly sum up where Gareth Southgate’s men are at the moment – promising and full of raw potential, but ultimately not quite good enough yet. They were outclassed at times by the Dutch pass masters and eventually paid the price, before a rather droll performance against Switzerland.

However, in these qualifying campaigns they are head and shoulders above the competition. Their main rivals in this group are expected to be Czech Republic, but they were battered 5-0 at Wembley in the opening round of fixtures and a 5-1 demolition of Montenegro further cemented their position.

Bulgaria haven’t qualified for a major tournament since Euro 2004, and considering not a single one of their players plies their trade in a top 5 European league, they aren’t likely to put up much of a threat here either.

Indeed, they have drawn 2 and lost 2 of their opening 4 qualifiers, and that leaves them winless in all competitions since October 2018. Away from home, this winless run stretches back a year since their 2-1 win over Slovenia, and while an England victory looks overwhelmingly likely, there is a hint of positivity for the visitors.

Bulgaria have actually managed to score in 10 of their last 11 matches, and away from home they have netted in 11 of their last 15. This hasn’t just been goals against minnow nations either; they have scored against Portugal, Japan, France, Netherlands and Czech Republic in this period.

Meanwhile, 4 of England’s last 8 home games have seen them concede, so there is every chance that Bulgaria can snatch a goal here. Ultimately though, Bulgaria have lost 8 of their last 12 on the road, so we think a bet of England to Win and Both Teams to Score looks the best option alongside a comfortable 3-1 correct score prediction.