England vs Senegal predictions: Three Lions to edge City Ground win
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- England laboured to a 1-0 win over minnows Andorra on Saturday
- Senegal drew 1-1 with Republic of Ireland in a friendly on Friday
- Recommended bet: England to win and both teams to score
England struggled to a 1-0 win over minnows Andorra in Saturday's World Cup qualifier and now turn their attention to a friendly clash with Senegal at the City Ground in Nottingham on Tuesday.
The Three Lions made it three wins from three in the group in what has been the perfect start to their bid to qualify for next year's World Cup finals, but the performance in Barcelona was far from convincing and boss Thomas Tuchel will hope for much better against Senegal.
The visitors were held to a 1-1 draw by Republic of Ireland in a friendly on Friday to extend their unbeaten run to 13 matches.
Team news
Tuchel is likely to make plenty of changes for Tuesday's friendly, although skipper Harry Kane, who netted the winner on Saturday, should keep his place in the side, along with Noni Madueke, who was one of the few players to impress.
Declan Rice, Eberechi Eze, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ivan Toney and Trevoh Chalobah are among the players who will hope to start in Nottingham, but Ollie Watkins is out after he withdrew from the squad before the Andorra clash with a minor injury.
Senegal boss Pape Thiaw is also expected to ring the changes, with key men such as Nicolas Jackson, Kalidou Koulibaly and Idrissa Gueye all in line to start after they were left on the bench on Friday.
Ismaila Sarr came on to score the equaliser in Dublin late on, so the Crystal Palace forward is also tipped to be in the starting XI but the visitors are without former Liverpool star Sadio Mane, who asked to be left out of the squad for the friendlies against Ireland and England.
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The stats
The 1-0 victory over Andorra meant Tuchel became the first England manager to win his first three games in charge without conceding a goal.
England have won their last six games, conceding just one goal in that spell.
Senegal are on a 13-game unbeaten run with their last defeat coming in January 2024 when they lost on penalties to Ivory Coast in the Africa Cup of Nations.
Senegal have scored 19 goals in total across that unbeaten run.
England and Senegal have only ever faced each other once before, when the Three Lions won 3-0 in the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup.
Prediction
England will need to put in an improved performance when they face Senegal in Nottingham.
The Three Lions were uninspiring when they laboured to just a 1-0 win over Andorra in Saturday’s World Cup qualifier and, even though Tuesday’s City Ground clash has less riding on it, Tuchel will want to see more in the final third from his side.
Senegal drew 1-1 in Dublin against the Republic of Ireland on Friday and have the talent to unsettle the hosts.
England were disappointing in Barcelona on Saturday when they dominated possession and territory, as expected, against weak opponents but they lacked a cutting edge and had to rely on a solitary goal from skipper Kane to bail them out.
Tuesday’s clash may offer Tuchel the chance to further tinker with his side and plenty more fringe players should expect to get the chance to impress, with the coach hoping they take it after several struggled at the weekend.
England should be able to overcome Senegal, who showed plenty of promise against the Irish, but ultimately were only able to manage a draw.
Several of Senegal's star men, including Jackson, Koulibaly and Gueye and Sarr were all named on the bench on Friday, but the Lions of Teranga are set to field a stronger line-up for the England clash.
A tight game is anticipated but the hosts should edge it in front of what should be a lively crowd at the City Ground when Senegal should at least get on the scoresheet again.
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