Nations League: Robin Bairner has two solid options for Hungary vs England

England favourites in Budapest

England begin their third UEFA Nations League campaign with a trip to Hungary on Saturday.

Although the match is advertised as being a closed-door affair due to indiscretions from the Hungarian fans in the past, up to 30,000 could attend as the hosts take advantage of a UEFA loophole to allow adults in with children to watch the match at the Puskas Arena.

Nevertheless, it is a game the Three Lions really need to win if they are to progress to the final stages, and they are 1.4 favourites to do so. Hungary can be backed at 11 to cause an upset or 4.8 to snatch a point. 

Hungary for success

Hungary will play in the ‘A’ division for the first time after being promoted from a group that also contained Russia, Serbia and Turkey. Home form was not their strength during that campaign, with their only victory coming via a 2-0 success over the Turks. 

These fixtures took place back in 2020, and since then they flopped in World Cup qualifying. Hungary finished fourth in a group that contained England and Poland, with the highlights an away draw at Wembley and an away win over Poland. 

It was less than a year ago, though, that they were thumped 4-0 in Budapest by Gareth Southgate’s side, collapsing late on to concede all of these strikes in the last 35 minutes. They will be eager to avoid a repeat on their debut at the top level of this new competition. 

England striker Harry Kane will be hoping to close in on Wayne Rooney's goals record when the Three Lions take on Hungary

Three Lions on a roll

England, meanwhile, are comparatively old hands at the top level in the Nations League. In the competition’s first outing, they finished third overall, and though they failed to qualify for the previous finals in Italy, they still managed to win three of their six group matches. 

Since then, Gareth Southgate’s side have reached the final of Euro 2020 and qualified serenely for the World Cup, dropping only four points along the way and scoring goals aplenty. 

That momentum has been carried into 2022, in which England have scored friendly wins over Switzerland and Ivory Coast. Now back in competitive action, the aim is to keep that run going. 

England’s defence to stand firm 

England should have few problems winning this game and adding to Hungary’s relatively mediocre home form. 

Defensively, the Three Lions have been superb for the best part of a year. They have kept 15 clean sheets in their last 21 matches and have not conceded any more than a single goal in those games. Backing another clean sheet at 1.66 is logical against an opponent that is not prolific. 

Perhaps the best value, though, is backing England to win to nil. Hungary’s last five defeats have all come with them failing to score, and there is little to suggest that trend will change here. 

Additionally, a good long shot is backing over 2.5 goals and against both teams to score at 5.1. 

Recommended bets 

England/BTTS No @ 2.2

BTTS No/over 2.5 goals @ 5.1