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HOME NATIONS CAN ALL PREVAIL
England head into their first away game under new boss Steve McClaren in full knowledge Macedonia will provide a stiff challenge but even so anything less than three points will be a suprise.
McClaren's England reign has got off to an explosive start with a 4-0 thrashing of Greece and last Saturday's ridiculously easy 5-0 victory over Andorra but both of these came on home soil.
This will be the new boss' first game away from the security of Old Trafford and he's in for a tricky little encounter.
The attitude coming from the England camp is they will not underestimate Macedonia and the former Middlesbrough manager is under no illusions that it'll be a comfortable ride in Skopje.
But captain John Terry insists his side are ready for their "first major test" and we can certainly expect them to persevere in the end.
The national side have picked themselves up from their World Cup failure and are now on the crest of a wave as a new lease of life runs through their veins.
But despite thrashing two poor sides in this new era, it's unlikely there will be a repeat of this on Wednesday night.
Macedonia have won their last three away games and although they are yet to reach a major tournament, they did draw twice with Holland in the World Cup qualifiers.
Indeed the last time the Three Lions came up against them was during the qualification stages for Euro 2004 and back then Sven-Goran Eriksson's side faltered to a 2-2 draw at St Mary's before edging their way to a far from convincing 2-1 away triumph.
It's the perfect reminder of the 'unknown' dangers of European football and the cautious approach the leading nations take into these games.
Therefore we feel it's unwise to consider gambling on yet another goal glut and instead look towards a tighter margin of victory.
We suggest it will be a cagey first-half with few chances for either side as England test the waters before coming out after the break with intent to get the job done, while keeping it tight at the back.
The one great strength of the England side is the defence and with Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe forging a lethal strike partnership, a 2-0 win is on the cards and at 5/1 with Total Bet, this represents decent value.
If our analysis is to go as planned then the 14/5 available with Stan James
about the draw at half-time and the England win at full-time is also worth backing.
At 5/1 to score first you can count on Crouch to continue his dazzling goalscoring form.
The Liverpool striker has scored an an incredible 10 times in his last 10 games and seems to relish the opportunity to play against the weaker nations.
The combination of Crouch and Defoe is blossoming and it would also be a good strategy to back either man to open the scoring.
Also in action on Wednesday night are Northern Ireland who host Spain at Windsor Park.
Lawrie Sanchez' side fell to a depressingly bad 3-0 home defeat to Iceland at the weekend in a game they expected at least a point and now they need to produce a near miracle to get their Euro 2008 hopes back on track.
But the Irish have a reputation of saving their best for the big nations, having not only shocked the English here last year but also holding Portugal to a 1-1 draw.
With Spain counting their losses from Germany 2006 together with a somewhat patchy away record in qualifying campaigns, we will put our necks on the line and say Northern Ireland will grind out a creditable draw, which is available at 9/2 with UK Betting.
Meanwhile Scotland will be aiming to build on their 6-0 demolition of the Faroe Islands as they travel to Lithuainia.
The revitalised Scots are also embarking on a new dawn under Walter Smith although reaching the finals from a group which includes France, Italy and the Ukraine could almost be considered an impossible task.
Their realistic target is to improve their world rankings and as a result find themselves in more favourable draws in the not too distant future - but they can't lose to sides like Lithuania for that to happen.
Smith has instilled new confidence and belief in his fresh looking side and although it seems likely he'll adopt a cautious looking 5-4-1 formation with Kenny Miller opperating as a lone striker, we think they'll come back home with all three points.
Scotland's recent away record has been excellent and they managed highly impressive victories in Norway and Slovenia during the World Cup qualifying campaign with just one man up front.
Their opponents achieved an incredible draw with Italy at the weekend but, by all accounts, they capitalised on a lazy and lethargic start from the World Champions, who then proceeded to dominate only to end up frustrated with just a point.
By Bettingzone.co.uk
Used with permission.
ENGLAND v ANDORRA & MACEDONIA MATCH PROGRAMME INDEX
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