STAR PREVIEW Sat: Hungary v England

Gareth Southgate’s England return to action on Saturday as the Three Lions continue their preparations for the World Cup with a Nations League clash against Hungary at the Puskas Arena.

England’s last encounter at the Puskas Arena was marred by abhorrent racist abuse from the stands and, although the initial understanding was this match would be played behind-closed-doors, up to 30,000 supporters are now expected to be in attendance.

There are mixed feelings amongst supporters over the Nations League with many questioning whether a rest would perhaps would be more helpful for these players after a long, hard season.

Southgate will be able to use it as an opportunity to experiment, though, and he has shuffled the pack a little bit with his squad and brought some new faces into the fold.

West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen and Leicester’s James Justin could be in line for their first caps and AC Milan’s Fikayo Tomori – fresh off the back of his Scudetto triumph – will be hoping to make his mark upon his return to the squad.

Trent Alexander-Arnold is unlikely to be risked after his Champions League final defeat for Liverpool whilst Ben White has been forced to withdraw from the squad due to a muscular injury.

Hungary v England
UEFA Nations League Group Stage
17:00 Channel 4 / All 4

HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD
(Maximum 10 matches)
OCT 2021 WORLD CUP England 1-1 Hungary
SEPT 2021 WORLD CUP Hungary 0-4 England
AUG 2010 FRIENDLY England 2-1 Hungary
MAY 2006 FRIENDLY England 3-1 Hungary
APR 1999 FRIENDLY Hungary 1-1 England
MAY 1996 FRIENDLY England 3-0 Hungary
MAY 1992 FRIENDLY Hungary 0-1 England
SEPT 1990 FRIENDLY England 1-0 Hungary
APR 1988 FRIENDLY Hungary 0-0 England
OCT 1983 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP Hungary 0-3 England

Hungary held their own in a very tough group in EURO 2020, but were ultimately eliminated in the group stage.

They were involved in England’s qualification group for this World Cup, but were knocked out with the Three Lions grabbing top-spot and Poland and Albania taking second and third-place.

These two sides last faced each other in October with Hungary bouncing back from their heavy 4-0 defeat to Gareth Southgate’s side a month prior with a much stronger performance earning them a respectable 1-1 draw at Wembley Stadium.

Young midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai is the great hope for Marco Rossi’s side. He missed EURO 2020 through injury, but the RB Leipzig man is back to full fitness and will likely be pulling the strings in Hungary’s midfield on Saturday afternoon.

However, Southgate’s side are clearly the stronger of the two sides and should be able to get a result here. We’re backing an England win to nil with a correct scoreline of 2-0 to the away side.

JOE CITRONE

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PROFIT/LOSS (JUNE 2022): LOSS -4.00 points
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