England U21 vs Slovenia U21 Prediction: 5/1 Betting Tip & Team News
England began the defence of their European Under-21 Championship title with a 3-1 win over the Czech Republic on Thursday, and the Young Lions are strong favourites for a second success when they tackle Slovenia on Sunday.
Slovenia lost 3-0 to Germany in their opening contest, so will need a much-improved performance to keep their qualification hopes alive.
The Group B match at the Stadion pod Zoborom in Nitra, Slovakia, kicks off at 5pm and will be shown live on Channel 4.
England U21 vs Slovenia U21 Prediction
England U21 vs Slovenia U21 Tips
England showed style and plenty of determination to come through their opening game against the Czechs with promising performances throughout the team and head coach Lee Carsley should have been pleased with his team's opening effort.
The Young Lions arrived at the tournament in Slovakia having won their qualifying group with 41 goals scored and only six conceded in 10 games despite the early setback of a 3-2 loss in Ukraine in October 2023.
Slovenia deserve respect as they also headed their qualifying group, impressively finishing above France, although they did not beat France themselves and instead benefited from third-placed Austria overcoming Les Bleus twice.
Slovenia coach Andrej Razdrh has gone into the finals with a major issue, though, as the key defenders who saw his side through their qualifying campaign are unavailable.
In their opening match against Germany, Slovenia tried a makeshift three-man defence for the first time and paid the price as Stuttgart's Nick Woltemade scored a hat-trick in a 3-0 win.
England have plenty of attacking flair to exploit that weakness and could keep up their prolific form with a clear-cut success by three goals or more.
England captain James McAtee set up Liverpool's Harvey Elliott for the Young Lions' opening goal of the tournament, but the Manchester City forward looks a decent price to get the scoring started himself in Sunday's match.
McAtee, who scored in the Premier League, FA Cup and the Champions League for Pep Guardiola's side this season, scored three goals in England's last two qualifying matches, including two late strikes to give his team a crucial 2-1 win over Ukraine in Bournemouth in October.
Elliott was the team's top scorer in qualifying and should also fancy his chances, but the patched-up Slovenian defence offers an ideal opportunity for McAtee to open his finals account.
England U21 vs Slovenia U21 Team News
England coach Lee Carsley is not likely to make many changes after his side's solid start, but one or two tweaks are possible with a potential group-decider to follow against Germany on Wednesday.
Arsenal's Ethan Nwaneri came on as a substitute in the first game and is one of Carsley's options if he decides to tinker with his line-up.
Slovenia's substitutions against Germany all appeared to be tactical rather than due to injuries, however, coach Andrej Razdrh could make defensive changes after their tough first game.
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