Southgate to return to England's winning formula

With defeat against the Czech Republic confirmed you’d think England had just failed to qualify for Euro 2020 such was the public reaction. Can they bounce back in Bulgaria? Have a read of our preview here:

Food for thought for Mr Southgate

The defeat to the Czech Republic was bad enough but the nature of the performance was alarming. The Three Lions looked more like kittens as they were ripped apart time and time again by the home side in Prague.

The back four Southgate put out simply could not cope with the energy and wing play of the hosts and several players in that England side are fortunate to have a place based on recent efforts. Danny Rose struggled and Michael Keane is clearly not good enough to play for the national team especially defensively. Bad marking from set-pieces – something England were excellent at defending in Russia – came back to haunt Southgate’s side for the second game in a row and the coach appears ready to revert to the three-at-the-back system that helped get the Three Lions to the World Cup semi-finals.

There is no need to panic and foolish calls for the manager to be sacked just highlight how fickle and, frankly, stupid some football fans can be but there are lessons to be taken from the last couple of games in which England took for granted their apparent superiority.

Are the players there for England?

The term back-to-basics gets used a lot in football and is often heard after a defeat but really England need to return to the system that saw them do so well over the last couple of years.

The players appear far more comfortable in a 5-3-2 or 3-5-3 if you prefer but there are questions about personnel that still need to be answered. The fact that Michael Keane is in the side has highlighted the lack of depth in central defence for Southgate to choose from and this has left him a real dilemma.

Keane’s big-money move to Everton has not worked out but with John Stones out, there are not many other options for the England manager. Joe Gomez and Tyrone Mings definitely deserve a chance against Bulgaria and Southgate may well give them an opportunity to show what they can do.

Bulgaria v England betting tip

With England likely to revert to their three at the back system and with pride hurt from defeat in Prague, you have got to be hopeful that the Three Lions will get back to being the solid defensive force they were in Russia. Therefore, backing England to win to nil at odds of 3/4 with BetVictor seems good value here.

Bet England to win to nil on