England vs Hungary: Three Lions must toil for Molineux win

England host Hungary at Molineux in the last Nations League match of four during this hectic international window. Gareth Southgate’s side are seeking both a victory and goals – two things to have eluded them – in this encounter as the Three Lions aim to ensure they do not go four matches without a win under the former Middlesbrough boss for the first time.

The home side are 1.3 favourites to win this match, with Hungary on offer at 5.9. A draw can be backed at 13.5.

In need of victory

There is little doubt that this international period has not gone according to plan for England. A return of two draws and a defeat is not the standard that Euro 2020 finalists have set for themselves, and what has been particularly worrying has been their lack of goals. They have failed to score from open play in their last three games.

Southgate has been experimenting with his team ahead of the World Cup in November, but few fresh options have appeared for him. Now the immediate focus must be on avoiding Nations League relegation, which would suddenly start to be a very real prospect if they were to fail to win this match.

Harry Kane will be back in the starting XI for this match as he chases down Wayne Rooney’s all-time scoring record of 53. The Tottenham striker stands within striking distance on 50 but only has two Nations League goals from 13 previous matches.

Pressue on Gareth Southgate to deliver victory.

Hungary for more

Hungary, meanwhile, have justified their place in the A division by picking up four points from their opening three games. A Dominik Szoboszlai penalty was enough to dispatch England in Budapest little over a week ago, and that was followed by a tight loss against Italy and a 1-1 draw against Germany in which they scored first.

This is a team that is nobody’s fools, despite a patchy overall record since being knocked out of Euro 2020 at the group stage last summer. England will be more acutely aware of this than most, having also drawn with the Hungarians 1-1 at Wembley in a World Cup qualifier back in October.

Indeed, Hungary’s record away from home is surprisingly strong. They have only lost two of 12 fixtures on their travels, dating back to 2019.

Visitors to make life difficult for Three Lions

While England deserve their favouritism, odds of 1.3 are much too short to provide value. Given their struggles to score goals, alternative bets can be found that allow for the home side to win, but perhaps not handsomely.

Backing against the Three Lions to score in both halves at 1.7 is attractive given the hosts’ struggles in front of goal, while Under 2.5 goals for the match at 2.16 offers very promising value. Another alternative is to back Hungary on the Asian handicap market. Backing them with a +2 handicap at 1.48 means that England would need to win by three for the bet to be a loser.

Recommended bets

Under 2.5 goals @ 2.16

Hungary AH +2 @ 1.48