This Thursday, old rivals England and Wales meet in an international friendly match at the famous Wembley Stadium.
Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel may use this contest to experiment a little with his team, ahead of next summer’s World Cup.
England have all but secured qualification for the tournament at a canter, while Wales are having to battle hard in a group containing Belgium and North Macedonia.
For the Welsh and manager Craig Bellamy, this is a crucial match to try and build confidence ahead of next week’s home game against Belgium.
So while it is designated as a friendly, we still expect fireworks at Wembley, and here is our full betting preview for England vs Wales, complete with the latest football odds from our website and app.
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Where can I watch England vs Wales in the UK?
England vs Wales will be broadcast live on ITV1, with kick-off scheduled for 7:45pm UK time.
England vs Wales Preview
Much of the talk in the build up to this match has been about the players Tuchel did not include in the squad.
Jude Bellingham, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden and Adam Wharton are just some of the debated absentees, with the World Cup now less than a year away.
Bellingham’s omission is the most bizarre, given he is back playing for Real Madrid after shoulder surgery, but it does present unexpected opportunities to Eberechi Eze, Morgan Rogers and Morgan Gibbs-White.
Tuchel is also dealing with some minor injury issues in the camp ahead of Thursday’s match. Captain Harry Kane, Declan Rice and Marcus Rashford all picked up knocks on club duty over the weekend, so the trio may feature from the bench, with one eye on next Tuesday’s qualifier vs Latvia.
Reece James has also dropped out of the squad through injury, joining Chelsea team-mate Cole Palmer on the sidelines. He has been replaced by Manchester City starlet Nico O’Reilly.
As for Wales, Bellamy is without the services of key duo Aaron Ramsey and Dan James due to injury, though he can still call upon the services of several Premier League stars.
Neco Williams, Joe Rodon, Ben Davies, Ethan Ampadu, David Brooks, Harry Wilson and Brennan Johson are all part of Bellamy’s latest squad, joined by several standout performers from the lower leagues – including Wrexham’s Kiefer Moore and Cardiff’s Rubin Colwill.
These two nations last met in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup, with Gareth Southgate’s England side winning 3-0 in Qatar thanks to two goals from Rashford and a strike by Foden.
England vs Wales Odds
*All odds are subject to change
England are huge favourites to win this international friendly at a price of 1.26. A Wales victory is at odds of 8.30, while the draw is 4.90.
England vs Wales Betting Tips
Anytime goalscorer – Ollie Watkins @ 2.00
As mentioned above, Kane picked up a minor knock in Bayern Munich’s 3-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt. So as this is a friendly, we expect Watkins to feature from the off, and he will be eager to impress after a slow start to the season, a start which may put his World Cup place in jeopardy if it continues. But we are backing Watkins to deal with the pressure and add to his England goal tally.
To assist a goal – Bukayo Saka @ 3.50
Saka’s recent injury struggles at Arsenal mean he will be eager to strut his stuff on the international stage once again. The winger was not part of the squad in September due to a hamstring strain, but he is back to full fitness now, and looked sharp in a goal-scoring display vs West Ham on the weekend. Saka has eight assists in 44 previous England appearances, and registered 11 of them in 25 Premier League games during the 2024-25 season.
Both teams to score – Yes @ 2.30
While England are a strong defensive unit, with Ezri Konsa, Marc Guehi, John Stones and Dan Burn all available for selection, we can see Wales grabbing a goal at Wembley. Friendly matches can see the favourites take their foot off the gas, while the Welsh have potent attacking weapons, namely Fulham’s Wilson and Spurs winger Johnson.
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