Greece vs England: Match Preview, Odds & Prediction

The English will seek swift retribution when England and Greece meet in Athens on Thursday night. Here are our match preview and predictions

Previous Matches and Head-to-head

Coming to the hosts, the Ethniki have made a tremendous comeback after being devastated in March when they lost out on the opportunity to secure an EURO 24 ticket. Ivan Jovanovic's squad hopes to replicate their famed Nations League performance from their 2-1 triumph against England at Wembley on October 10th.

With an easy 2-0 home victory against Greece to round off October, the atmosphere in Athens is soaring. On September 7th, Greece kicked off their Nations League journey with a 3-0 defeat of Finland. Since then, they've won all four League B matches by an aggregate score of 9-1.

In contrast to England's quick reaction last month—a 3-1 triumph away at Finland—Lee Carsley's substitute team has failed to make a significant impression.

The Three Lions will be under intense scrutiny again when they go to Athens on Thursday night, given that the new coach, Thomas Tuchel, is officially slated to take charge at Wembley in January. England has been struggling defensively for some time and suffered a devastating defeat to Spain in July at EURO 24, meaning they lost out on the opportunity to win their first international trophy since 1966. 

The Carsley loanees have lost two of their last three games since the summer, including the historic 2-1 setback to Greece in north London last month. They have only managed two clean sheets in their eight games over the summer.

Greece x England Team News

Greece will be led by Benfica striker Vangelis Pavlidis, who scored a stunning brace at Wembley last month in their historic 2-1 Nations League victory. Starting left-back Konstantinos Tsimikas had six appearances for Liverpool's high-flying Premier League squad.

Athens will start Odysseas Vlachodimos in goal before he moves to Newcastle this summer. West Ham defender Konstantinos Mavropanos will earn his 32nd cap for Greece on Thursday night, starting at center back.

Two young players, Lewis Hall of Newcastle and Taylor Harwood-Bellis of Southampton, have been called up to the senior team for the first time. Liverpool superstar Trent Alexander-Arnold is doubtful about playing for the Reds in the next two weeks after limping off against Aston Villa last weekend due to a muscular problem.

England will be led by ex-Tottenham captain Harry Kane, who is now riding high after another dominant season in the Bundesliga and has scored eleven goals in the top tier. Declan Rice, a midfielder for Arsenal, has been included in Carsley's roster after recovering from a little injury last week.

Our Predictions

Both Teams to score @ 2.02 on Sky247.ng.

There will be a lot of pressure on England after their 2-1 defeat to Greece at Wembley last month. The Three Lions should be ready for another tough test in Athens on Thursday night, as a victory is essential if they are to secure a quick return to League A this season. The Ethniki hopes to put England's defense—which has kept only two clean sheets in their previous eight games—to the test, as Greece has won all four of its Nations League matches by an aggregate score of 9-1.

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