England v Ukraine Betting: Maguire double looks appealing after landing four times this year

Let’s be honest, there’s only one thing on the minds of the English public this weekend and that’s the small matter of a Quarter-Final tie with Ukraine that will be held in Rome on Saturday evening. Here at BettingOdds.com we’ve taken a look through betting markets for the game and have picked out a selection that we like the look of based on past data.

Ukraine manager Andriy Shevchenko scored his first league goal for Chelsea in a 2-1 defeat away to Middlesbrough in 2006 that was in fact Gareth Southgate’s first ever win as manager. The pair face off this weekend as their respective national team managers and Southgate may revert to a back-four after using a back three against Germany for the first time in a game this calendar year.

England are yet to concede a goal at Euro 2021 and one player who has featured twice, and was awarded the UEFA Star of the match against Germany is Harry Maguire. The Manchester United captain features in our bet for the game which has been given a boost by lads over at Paddy Power which takes it from 11/1 to a very backable 14/1 and here’s why.

18 yellows for club and country since the start of last season

Harry Maguire has had some fairly fruitful league campaigns when it comes to picking up cards and this one started no differently with a booking in his first game of the season against Crystal Palace. Maguire’s previous highest amount of yellows in one league season was previously seven but he went on to eclipse that in the Premier League last season with 11, with only one player collecting more in Aston Villa’s John McGinn with 12.

In total the centre-back has been shown a remarkable 18 yellow cards in all competitions for club and country this season. Two of those bookings came for Southgate’s side when the Three Lions faced Denmark in the Nations League last October with Maguire being sent off in the 32nd minute. 

The 28-year-old from Sheffield was an absolute colossus at the back against Germany and was named man of the match in an excellent defensive display with fellow South Yorkshire teammates John Stones and Kyle Walker. Maguire's reputation for going through the back of people and remarkable figure of 18 yellows for club and country since the start of last season makes him still backable for a card against Ukraine in our opinion.

Loves a shot

First up, in the 17 matches for club and country in which Maguire has been shown a yellow card since the start of last season, only five of those failed to see him have a shot. A constant threat at set-pieces, two of his four goals in the last season coming for England against the Republic Ireland and then most recently against Poland at the end of March. 

Trent Alexander-Arnold was the only defender to let off more shots in the Premier League than Maguire who registered 36 in 34 appearances last season but it’s in the shots on target market where we are backing him on Saturday. 

A bet with proven history

Having a look back at Maguire’s data over the and this bet of him to be carded and have a shot on target has actually landed four times in 2021. It most recently came in against Germany at 18/1 on Tuesday via the Paddy Power ‘Bet Builder’ feature and at similar prices against Aston Villa, Leicester City and Granada this year.

Maguire ranked second in the Premier League for bookings last term and also ranked second for defenders to have the most shots. His passion and pride for his country cannot be faulted and he’s willing to put himself on the line when called upon.

Ahead of the England v Ukraine match this bet has shortened into 11/1 after the 18/1 against Germany when it landed. The reason for this may be due to England being a shorter price to see off the Ukraine, with Maguire consequently being cut in the shots on target market to 17/10 to register one or more. 

We’re fully getting behind England to bring it home and this 14/1 play for Harry Maguire to be carded and have a shot on target, looks an attractive bet for the game against Ukraine.

Enjoy the match which can be seen live on BBC One, and as always please gamble responsibly.