England vs Poland preview

October 14, 2013
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

Poland vs EnglandEngland did well to stay on track to the 2014 World Cup by defeating Montenegro on Friday, but the Three Lions are aware they need to win the final group game as well if they are to seal automatic qualifying berth.

Meanwhile, Poland saw their qualifying hopes go up in smoke following the 1-0 defeat to Ukraine, but the visitors are, nonetheless, unlikely to roll over for their more illustrious opponents.

With just two matches to go, England sat at the top of Group H and needed six points from home games against Montenegro and Poland to qualify for the 2014 World Cup.

That was definitely a good position to be in given that the Three Lions hadn’t won a single game against other high-profile sides in the group.

England indeed broke the duck when it mattered the most, recording a 4-1 victory over severely weakened Montenegro to remain in the driving seat.

It was boss Roy Hodgson who surprised everyone with his squad selection, handing a debut to Andros Townsend while also fielding Wayne Rooney, Daniel Sturridge and Danny Welbeck in what was probably the most attack-minded line-up since he took over the reigns.

The gamble paid off big time and now the experienced manager is unlikely to make major changes for the crucial qualifier against Poland.

However, even with their opponents out of contention for the top two places, we are completely unimpressed by odds of 1.25 (1/4) offered on home win at Stan James.

Ashley Cole has failed to recover from injury, meaning Leighton Baines will continue on the left-back, whereas Kyle Walker is banned.

Probable starting line-up (4-4-1-1): Hart – Jones, Cahill, Jagielka, Baines – Townsend, Gerrard, Lampard, Welbeck – Rooney – Sturridge.

Having co-hosted the Euro 2012, Poland had a good chance to raise the profile of the national team, but it appears they have failed to take full advantage of the opportunity that presented itself.

Despite failing to get past the group stage, the White Eagles started the 2014 World Cup qualifiers brightly, but it was the home defeat to Ukraine that set them back a great deal.

Poland had another chance to return into contention for play-off berth, but they were once again beaten by the same side on Friday to end their qualifying hopes.

But, it appears that the visitors will not be lacking in motivation when they take on England at Wembley, with 18,000 travelling fans likely to prove a huge help.

With that in mind, you might want to know Poland are 4.33 (10/3) with BetVictor to spoil the party for the Three Lions.

Lukasz Szukala misses out through suspension, whereas Pawel Wszolek have been added to the Under-21 side. There are no other worries for boss Waldemar Fornalik.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Boruc – Jedrzejczuk, Wasilewski, Gilk, Wojtkowiak – Polanski, Krychowiak – Blaszczykowski, Klich, Sobota – R. Lewandowski.

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