England vs North Macedonia tips: Three Lions can delight Old Trafford with another goal-fest
- Planet Sport writer
- 18 June 2023
England will be looking to continue their perfect qualifying record when they welcome North Macedonia to the Theatre of Dreams.
Date, KO time and TV coverage
Euro 2024 qualifiers, Monday June 19, Kick-off 7:45pm, live on Channel 4
Predicted score
England 3-0 North Macedonia
Suggested bets
England -1 handicap
Over 2.5 goals
England to keep clean sheet
Key stats
England are unbeaten in their qualifying group
England have only conceded three goals from their last seven matches
North Macedonia have won three of their last 10 matches
North Macedonia have conceded seven goals from their last four outings
Team news
There are doubts over Bukayo Saka after the Arsenal man was taken off during Friday's victory over Malta.
Gareth Southgate revealed the substitution was precautionary, though Phil Foden is certainly not a bad replacement should the England boss feel like a change is necessary.
Manchester City teammates Jack Grealish, John Stones, Kyle Walker and Kalvin Phillips could also feature after spending the Malta encounter on the sidelines.
Visar Musliu won't be available for North Macedonia after being sent off against Ukraine. Darko Velkovski is expected to fill his spot in the heart of defence.
Verdict
Despite being handed one of the toughest groups of the Euro 2024 qualifiers - at least on paper - it's fair to say that England have made light work of the opposition.
After kicking off their campaign with a 2-1 victory over Italy, Southgate's men have since beaten Ukraine and Malta by two and four goals to nil.
The Three Lions boast a star-studded squad and getting past North Macedonia should be nothing more than a formality come Monday night.
The Lynxes are ranked 65th in the world and they have enjoyed notable successes in recent years, including a 2021 win over Germany and their memorable 1-0 success against Italy in a World Cup qualifier last year.
Since that result against the European champions, there's been little to shout about for Blagoja Milevski's men.
North Macedonia have won three of their last 10 matches, beating lightweight opposition in Gibraltar, Malta and the Faroe Islands. Worryingly for the Lynxes, two of those wins came by a single goal margin.
Milevski's men are far from the threat they were in early 2022 and England shouldn't have many problems getting over the line at Old Trafford.
The Three Lions have scored eight goals from their last three matches and there's more to come by the looks of things.
England to win the match with a -1 handicap is our main recommendation. There are also a number of goal markets which catch the eye, including over 2.5 goals.
