England vs Hungary Betting Preview

It's time for a bit of fine-tuning, as Sven's men stretch their legs in a friendly against Hungary at Old Trafford on Tuesday and there will be glum faces emanating from the Theatre of Dreams if England don't deliver a performance that instils confidence ahead of next month's World Cup Finals in Germany. Alhough it was the B team that went down by two goals to one against Belarus last week, it was still disappointing to see England suffer a reverse against such an inferior side. On the flipside, the positive aspects of that game were the appearances of Ashley Cole and Michael Owen, both seemingly recapturing their sharpness following lengthy spells on the sidelines, while Spurs' Aaron Lennon terrorised the Belarus defence and looks one heck of a prospect. Of the twenty times England and Hungary have met, England have prevailed on thirteen occasions, two ending as draws, five games going to Hungary. However, the latter side, currently managed by Péter Bozsik, have not defeated England since 1962 and, it has to be said, over the past few decades Hungarian football has been very much on the decline. Eriksson is likely to tinker with the side with the objective of giving as many players within the 20-man squad for this fixture a blowout. But, despite the likely chopping and changing, the English public expects, and the Three Lions should outclass the Hungarians in every area of the park in this encounter Although it's hard to construct solid arguments based on the outcomes of previous friendlies owing largely to England's own inconsistency, from a betting perspective, backing three goals + in the total goals market at evens with Stan James makes plenty of appeal. Verdicy: 2.5 pts on 3 + in the total goals market (Stan James)