England vs Slovakia Euro 2024 prediction, tips, preview

The Three Lions are back in action on Sunday. The knockouts have arrived and there’s no longer time for messing about and taking it easy. It’s now or never.

Can the English get the job done against the Slovakians? Or will the underdogs be the third team to frustrate Southgate’s men in Germany. Read on for our England vs Spain predictions.

England vs Slovakia prediction

For the England vs Slovakia match prediction, we believe the final score will be a 2-1 win for England based on our analysis.

The Slovakians have shown that they can hurt teams at this tournament, but they’ve also looked quite open, so if the Three Lions can get their offensive players on the ball in dangerous areas, they should come out with a win, though given their rather clear disdain of going for it, we probably shouldn’t expect them to run away with the game.

Our England vs Slovakia predictions are as follows:

Lucas Haraslin Over 0.5 Shots on Target @ 13/8 with bet365
Both Teams to Score @ 6/4 with bet365

England vs Slovakia betting odds

The early betting odds imply that England have a 69.2% probability of winning this game, while Slovakia’s chances of winning are implied at just 10%.

Bet	Odds
England to win	4/9
Slovakia to win	9/1
Draw	7/2

Using our own calculations, we believe that the English have a 59.7% chance of winning this fixture, while the Slovakians have a 12.5% chance of success. We also have the draw priced at 13/5, which carries an implied probability of 27.8%.

England vs Slovakia head-to-head statistics

This will be the first time that Slovakia and England have met on the pitch since 2017, when England recorded a 2-1 win. In 2016, England beat the Slovakians by a goal to nil.

England vs Slovakia preview

This match will take place on 30/06/2024 at Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen. Kick off will be at 17:00 GMT.

The English topped their group at Euro 2024, making it through to the knockouts without ever really (and I mean really) trying to win a game, which would be impressive if it wasn’t so mind numbing.

We’ve heard it time and time again, “it’s tournament football, it’s all about getting the job done, we’ve got loads left to give”. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let’s see if things improve now that the groups are done and dusted.

Let’s face it, if the Three Lions have any genuine desire to win this tournament, they’ll need to get better, whether they’re on the “easy” side of the draw or not.

The Slovakians will probably also need to get a little better if they’re to make it beyond this point.

They countered well against Belgium, winning first time out, before starting very positively against Ukraine, only to be sucker-punched twice in the second half.

Again, they started really well against Romania last time out, taking the lead before being pegged back just before half-time, which preceded a second half played out between two teams happy to draw and advance to the knockouts, which is what the current format promotes. God forbid two teams go out from every group, but that’s a topic for another day.

All in all, the Slovaks have delivered moments of promise in Germany, they’ve got some useful players and probably won’t be scared of the rather timid Three Lions.

England vs Slovakia Betting tips

I’ll be honest, I have no idea how this game will pan out. If I had to guess, I’d say the English will likely bumble their way to a boring win, but either way, there are two bets that stand out from a value point of view.

Lucas Haraslin Over 0.5 Shots on Target

I like the look of Lucas Haraslin to register a shot on target here at 13/8 (bet365), which for my money, holds a bit too much juice to ignore.

Probably not overly well known to English fans, Haraslin doesn’t exactly ply his trade at the heights of European football, currently playing for Sparta Prague in the Czech Republic, but he’s shown at this tournament that he’s not a player to write off.

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As well as averaging 0.96 goals and assists for his club side last season, Haraslin played a key role in Slovakia making it out of Group E, registering an assist on match-day two.

Moreover, he’s been far from shy to pick up possession and by direct, drifting in from his wide position on the left of a front three, shooting with regularity.

Haraslin, who has offered a clear threat on the break, has taken two shots in each of his first three matches at Euro 2024, registering at least one shot on target in each of those, working opposition keepers a total of four times, averaging 1.76 shots on target per 90 minutes.

Both Teams to Score

I also cannot help but think that ‘Both Teams to Score’ looks chunky. From a win point of view, the Slovaks haven’t been given much chance in the early betting ahead of this game, but should they really be written off offensively? Probably not.

This is a team who enjoyed playing on the break against Belgium, while they’ve scored in three out of three at Euro 2024.

At the same time, the Slovaks have also shown a lack of defensive strength and have looked quite open in each of their three matches, keeping only one clean sheet and even that wasn’t down to defensive solidity.

Despite two clean sheets, the Three Lions don’t look overly astute at the back either, and it would be a rather colossal lie to say that they’ve looked good offensive, but they really ought to have what it takes to trouble what is a shaky opposing back-line, especially since they can no longer play for tactical group position. It’s do or die now.

For me, there’s enough evidence to suggest that the pair are a little more likely to both register on the scoresheet than the early odds suggest, so it’s worth taking 6/4.