Taylor gets big England chance

 

Christian Crowther combs through the headlines for the remaining home nations in action on Friday and dips into some of the markets...

 

England - Newcastle's Steven Taylor gets the call

Roy Hodgson has had a lot to deal with ahead of England's forthcoming World Cup qualifiers, the first of which is Friday evening's game in San Marino. Hodgson always knew he would be without Phil Jagielka for these vital qualifiers and that's why he opted to bring back Rio Ferdinand. However, given Rio's bizarre U-turn and Gary Cahill and Michael Dawson's withdrawals through injury, the England squad has been left more than a little light on defensive cover. While replacements Joleon Lescott and Tottenham's Steven Caulker have already earned caps under Hodgson, Newcastle's Steven Taylor has been drafted in at the age of 27 and could well earn his very first cap on Friday. England should cope at the back no matter who Hodgson opts to play there against San Marino, because the action will all be happening down the other end. It may be worth noting though that England have only scored five goals or more away from home twice this century.

Under 4.5 goals can be backed at 2.76

 

Northern Ireland - Ward pulls out through injury

Derby County's top scorer Jamie Ward had only just returned from injury to face Leicester at the weekend before leaving the field early in the second half, and will now miss both the Russia and Israel games. Although Ward is yet to open his account on the international scene in four appearances, this is a real blow for Michael O'Neill, as Ward has a better than one-every-two-games record for the Rams this season. Although resilient, the Northern Irish are far from prolific, having notched just three times in their last five matches. The Russians however, top the group with a perfect four wins from four - including a 2-0 home win over Northern Ireland - and ominously are yet to concede a goal either.

A Russia win to nil will be available at around 2.3

 

Republic of Ireland - Walters is injured in training

Stoke City's Jonathan Walters has given Giovanni Trapottoni a big scare ahead of their game against Sweden in Stockholm on Friday after he hobbled out of training with an ankle injury. Walters was involved in a collision with West Brom striker Shane Long and now Irish medics will assess the situation ahead of their huge match-up with Sweden, currently one point ahead in second. With the Swedes still to play in Dublin, a draw would certainly be considered a respectable result, especially considering the hosts have won their last eight major tournament qualifiers on home soil.

The draw can be backed at 4.3

 

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