Internationals / Feizal Rahman / 01 September 2010 /

Fabio Capello's England set out on the road to redemption on Friday night when they play Bulgaria in their first Euro 2012 qualifier. Feizal Rahman selects the best bets.

The World Cup post-mortem may still be ongoing but Fabio Capello and England will now need to focus on the rewards of the future rather than seeking to heal the wounds of the past.

Qualifying for tournaments is clearly well within England's ability, it's just winning them that proves problematic. No England manager has a better record in qualifiers than Fabio Capello though, which is why England are just [1.4] to win Group G.

Bulgaria have reached the European Championship finals just once. They missed out on the World Cup, finishing third in their group behind Italy and Ireland. Now without their recently retired all-time top goalscorer, Dmitar Berbatov, the Bulgarians face a tricky task of making it to Poland and Ukraine.

Match Odds

In qualifying for the World Cup, England's record was bettered only by eventual finalists, Spain and the Netherlands. Nine wins from 10 games tells its own story but the fact they scored more goals than any other country only increases the frustration at their failure in South Africa. However, with no sterner test facing them in this campaign than the last, there's little reason to doubt that Fabio Capello's men will win every home group game again.

Bulgaria have lost three of their last four contests and were defeated in five of the last seven on the road over the past year. Given the two team's respective records, the [1.33] on offer for England in the Match Odds market looks exceptional value, with Bulgaria at [16.0] and The Draw [5.4]. England's price may be plumped up in light of their big name absentees - John Terry, Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard - but there appears little in the Bulgarian attack to overly concern the home side.

Former Manchester City man Valeri Bojinov should start alone up front for the visitors with support coming from a fifth midfielder - most likely to be Ivelin Popov, who was linked with a move to Blackburn Rovers in the transfer window. Meanwhile, both Martin Petrov and captain Stilian Petrov will add additional Premier League experience to the midfield.

Both Teams To Score

With John Terry and Rio Ferdinand missing in defence, there are concerns over the inexperience of England's centre-back partnership. Tottenham's Michael Dawson won his first full cap only last month but is likely to be partnered by Matthew Upson, who featured regularly in previous qualifiers. Under Fabio Capello, England have kept a clean sheet just four times in 13 matches at Wembley and conceded in three of the five World Cup qualifiers played there. Bulgaria, meanwhile, scored in three of five trips in their respective campaign. The [2.2] available on Both Teams To Score may appeal.

Under/Over 3.5 Goals

England have, however, won by two clear goals or more in eight of their 13 games at Wembley under Capello and were by far the most attacking team during the UEFA World Cup qualification. Scorelines of 6-0, 3-0, 5-1 and 5-1 against Andorra, Belarus, Croatia and Kazakhstan respectively suggest that at home, England are well capable of putting inferior sides away, even with the odd lapse in concentration. Over 3.5 Goals looks an attractive option, currently trading at [3.0].

First Goalscorer

Wayne Rooney netted nine goals during World Cup qualification but suffered an inexplicable drought in South Africa and has not scored in an England shirt since last September. The Manchester United forward is the [4.0] favourite to open the scoring here, despite failing to benefit from a formation change during last month's friendly with Hungary which saw him flanked by Theo Walcott and Adam Johnson.

However, the impressive start to the domestic season from the latter two might persuade Capello to persist with the new symmetry and Walcott may reward First Goalscorer backers at [8.0]. Peter Crouch has been ruled out with a back injury, leaving Jermain Defoe and Darren Bent the attacking alternatives. The pair are around [2.5] to score at any time while Valeri Bojinov should trade around [5.0] in the same market.

Best bet: Over 3.5 Goals @ [3.0]
Recommended bet: Both teams To Score @ [2.2]

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