Opta Facts | Nations League: Beware a tragedy in waiting…
EUROPEAN heavyweights England and Italy head into MD3 of the Nations League hoping to make it three wins on the spin, while reigning champions Spain face a tough tussle against Group leaders Denmark in what could be the tie of the round.
Speaking of tight tussles, England face Greece, who lead their group on goal difference. No team has ever won more matches in the Nations League (13) than the side facing Lee Carsley’s Lions; could a tragedy be in the making?
Elsewhere, Scotland travel to Croatia hoping to make it three unbeaten trips against the Vatreni on the spin, while Iceland host Wales, looking for their first win over the Dragons in 40 years.
The last Nations League matchday was a boon for acca and bet builder lovers, with plenty of value punts hitting home! More of the same again this weekend?
This is where the guys at Opta come in. We’ve delved into their incredible database of match facts and stats, and using their AI-driven predictive analysis, we’ve come up with our best bets for what could be an incredible round of UEFA Nations League clashes.
Of course, it’s not an exact science, it’s a funny old game…
ENGLAND vs GREECE
England are unbeaten in all nine of their meetings with Greece across all competitions (W7 D2), keeping a clean sheet in seven of those matches
● Greece have drawn their last two away competitive matches against England, most recently 2-2 back in 2001
● England captain Harry Kane has scored 26 goals in 26 competitive home appearances for the Three Lions, scoring on each of his last six such outings (9 goals)
● Only Slovenia’s Benjamin Sesko (4) scored more goals than Greece’s Fotis Ioannidis (3) across the opening two matchdays of the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League
FINLAND vs REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
● Finland have won back-to-back games against the Boys in Green, both 1-0 in the 2020-21 UEFA Nations League.
● Republic of Ireland have failed to score in each of their last three matches, and 12 of 18 in the Nations League
● Fredrik Jensen scored the only goal in both of Finland’s wins in the UEFA Nations League against the Republic of Ireland
ICELAND vs WALES
● Iceland have only won one of their previous seven meetings with Wales (D1 L5), back in 1984
● Wales have won each of their last four games against Iceland, most recently 3-1 in a March 2014
● Wales’ Harry Wilson has been directly involved in seven goals across his last eight starts for his country (3 goals, 4 assists)
CROATIA vs SCOTALND
● Scotland are unbeaten on their two previous away trips to face Croatia
● Croatia have won six of their last eight games in the UEFA Nations League (D1 L1). Scotland are winless in their last 8 games (L5 D3) the longest run in their history
● Scott McTominay has scored 11 goals for Scotland, with all 11 coming in competitive fixtures
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