England v USA: Football friendly tips

When it comes to England friendlies the general rule of thumb is avoid them like the plague. This time around, though, Fabio Capello's men have more reason than usual to go for the win – and they can be trusted to do just that against USA on Wednesday night.

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USA are not actually as bad as they used to be. Players such as Brian McBride and Tim Howard have made a favourable impression in the Premier League, while the return from injury of DaMarcus Beasley was perfectly timed for the midfielder to play a starring, and scoring, role in Rangers' Scottish Cup win at the weekend.

Those tempted to back the Yanks can get odds as long as 8/1 about the visitors, and with England having lost to the likes of Denmark, Sweden and Australia in meaningless friendlies over recent years many will be tempted to back the visitors from across the pond.

Uncle Sam fans will also point to England's failure to play well in Capello's first two matches in charge. A narrow 2-1 win against Euro2008 co-hosts Switzerland was only marginally more convincing than the 1-0 reverse against France in Paris.

However, it takes time for a side to find its feet under any new coach and, after showing glimpses of decent football in Paris, England are now ready to take the next step forward in their development. Having not qualified for the European championship this friendly takes on extra significance as every player knows that they must convince their new coach of their worth among England's elite.

Frank Lampard will want to impress in his first match under Capello while John Terry will have a particular point to prove following his penalty miss in Moscow last week. His reinstatement as captain for the match should work wonders in eradicating any slackness in an England side that have not shone on the international stage for months.

With a large contingent of Champions League finalists in the side, there is no reason to suspect a below-par performance this time around, although picking out a first goalscorer might prove tricky as it remains unclear which strikers out of Wayne Rooney, Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Dean Ashton and Theo Walcott will start up front.

Lampard and Steven Gerrard are both available to score first at a generous 8/1 and, having shown his scoring touch in the Champions League final, the Chelsea man looks worth a punt at those odds. Capello has already highlighted that the US represent dangerous opposition, having scored seven times in their three matches against Poland, Sweden and Mexico but England's class will out here.

Verdict: 2pts Lampard to score first @ 8/1; England to win 2-0 @ 6/1

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