England vs Ivory Coast Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

The build-up to this year’s World Cup will be like no other, because we’ve already started the countdown to a tournament which wraps up in December. With England kicking off the year with a 2-1 win over Switzerland, their build-up to Qatar is well underway.

Now the Three Lions clash with the Ivory Coast in their second friendly of the year, with Gareth Southgate already confirming he plans to shuffle his pack. Those who didn’t feature on Saturday should get a look-in this week, but could that hurt them?

Could England get caught out?

Switzerland struck first at Wembley on Saturday, with Breel Embolo scoring the opener. While the Three Lions rallied back, questions remain about their defence. They’re likely to start with an inexperienced backline, which Ivory Coast can take advantage of.

The visitors boast Wilfied Zaha, Sebastian Haller, Maxwell Cornet and Nicolas Pepe up front. The Gunners’ winger struck in a 2-1 loss at world champions France at the weekend, the third time in four games that both teams have scored in their matches.

England strong enough for another victory

Since the Euros, England have conceded at home to both Switzerland and Hungary, with only Albania and Andorra failing to find the net at Wembley. Given that the Elephants scored six goals in four games at the Africa Cup of Nations, back them to score again at Wembley.

Given England’s exciting line-up of attacking options, Southgate’s rotation should reward the Three Lions going forward. The likes of Jack Grealish, Raheem Sterling and Jude Bellingham should get more of a run-out after starting on the bench at the weekend. On top of that, Harry Kane is four goals shy of Wayne Rooney’s scoring record and he’s unlikely to miss a chance to catch up.

The Three Lions fought back to take the points at the weekend and I’m backing them to have too much firepower for Ivory Coast to deal with. I’m going with a 3-1 win for the hosts as my correct score prediction.