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[i]England v Afghanistan Sky Sports 1 1500hrs BST[/i] England start their defence of their title with what they probably thought was going to be a leisurely stroll against a raw Afghan side. Michael Lumb looks likely to be the loser in the three way fight for the opening slot, with Alex Hales partnering Craig Kieswetter. Lower down the order there probably won't be a slot for Jonny Bairstow, either, whilst Luke Wright ahould beat out Ravi Bopara for the number three position. Afghanistan came so close against India. Their bowlers showed some real fight and even nipped out the vaunted Indian openers cheaply. What cost them dear was the regularity with which they lost wickets, leaving their lower order too much to do. Mohammed Nabi came of age as a batsman in that game, making 31 ...

[u]Outright market[/u] Despite the helter-skelter nature of Twenty20, one can usually rely on statistics to ensure that a wager emerges from a pack of eight sides who can expect to go close to glory, and the third edition of this tournament is no different. South Africa are third favourites and at 7.2 they represent solid value. They impressed greatly on their tour of England yet it is consistency which is the most important factor. With a win percentage of 69 in the last two years, they are the comfortably the most reliable. The balance South Africa have also inspires confidence. AB De Villiers, Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla can score quick runs up top, Albie Morkel can blast big numbers in the middle while with the ball the canny limited-overs pace bowling of Dale Steyn and ...

[b]Moldova v England, Friday 19:45, ITV1[/b] This Friday night, England head over to the dark side - of Europe at least - to face Moldova in the first of their World Cup 2014 qualifiers. This will be manager Roy Hodgson's debut preliminary contest since taking over the national job and, as a result, he will not be taking the challenge lightly. The England boss is without the defensive experience of Ashley Cole, so Leighton Baines fills in at left-back. Midfielder Adam Johnson withdrew with a thigh problem, while striker Andy Carroll is sidelined following the hamstring injury picked up in his debut for West Ham at the weekend. [u]Match Odds[/u] England are unbeaten in seven contests over 90 minutes since Hodgson took the reins back in May. Yet, their qualification record is ...

[b]All the evidence points to England's Euro 2012 rematch against the Azzurri being a low-scoring affair...[/b] [b]England v Italy[/b], Wednesday 20:00, ITV1, Match odds: England 2.68, Italy 3.18, The Draw 3.3 With the Premier League season imminent, this mistimed friendly has unsurprisingly attracted several pull-outs, with Joe Hart, Daniel Sturridge and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain among the withdrawals. Therefore, Roy Hodgson makes the trip to Berne to face the Euro 2012 runners-up with just two goalkeepers, with the uncapped John Ruddy and Jack Butland expected to make their international debuts in either half. Hodgson is also left with only two recognised strikers in Andy Carroll and Jermain Defoe, so Ashley Young might be called upon as a second striker as at the start of Euro...

[b]The Three Lions will face a hostile crowd at the Donbass Arena, but the on-field opposition is not nearly as intimidating and Tobias Gourlay believes Roy Hodgson will notch a second consecutive victory.[/b] Kick-off: 19:45 BST Live On: ITV [b]Match Odds[/b] This is a must-win game for Ukraine if they are not to emulate the ignominy of Austria and Switzerland four years ago and join Poland on the sidelines of their own tournament. The market doesn't think they can do it and makes England the favourites to take three points and give themselves the best possible chance of finishing above France and thus - probably - avoiding tournament favourites Spain in the quarter-finals. Wayne Rooney is available for the Three Lions after serving a two-match suspension and ready to...

[u]Match Odds[/u] If you'd bet on this game several months ago, France would have been a real value selection. There was a time when les Bleus were underdogs, which was baffling considering their superior individual talent and the solid if unspectacular collective progress made under Laurent Blanc during the qualifiers. Unfortunately, the market has straightened itself out. France are now favourites, with the match odds looking right on the eve of the game. The 2.56 on Karim Benzema and co. will draw in plenty of punters, but I'd recommend the safety net of 0&-0.5 on the Asian handicap (2.11) or DRAW NO BET (1.73). [u]Over/Under 2.5 Goals[/u] The consensus is Roy Hodgson will make England difficult to beat, and both his personal track record as a coach and the players available...

[u]The favourites[/u] [b]Spain (3.9)[/b] You can't argue with their status as favourites when we consider that the reigning European and World Champions have almost the same squad as they did when they won those two tournaments. But therein lies part of the problem. Almost. The absences of Carles Puyol and David Villa are two hammer blows to their chances because those are perhaps the two areas they could least afford to lose players. Fernando Torres comes into the tournament under-played and pretty unhappy with life, Fernando Llorente was excellent over two legs against Manchester United but anonymous in the Europa League final so maybe he can't handle the biggest stages just yet. I'm not sure this business of playing without a recognised striker such as Cesc Fabregas as the player...

[b]This match has plenty of interesting angles, including whether this is the first of many matches for Stuart Pearce as manager and who will be given the captain's armband on the night. Here's how to profit from a not so meaningless friendly...[/b] As far as friendlies go, this is one of the more intriguing ones. [b]The job interview[/b] Irrespective of the result itself, if Stuart Pearce looks the part as England manager, the players respond to him and the Three Lions play a good brand of football, we may have found the man to lead England at Euro 2012, if not for the World Cup qualifying campaign after that. There are good reasons why Harry Redknapp may turn down the chance to manage England this summer or even for the foreseeable future and though the 5-2 defeat on Sunday...

Looking at the results of their first game in charge, the last ten permanent England managers have a combined record of W8 D2 L0, For 22, Against 3. The last two caretaker bosses have a record of W0 D0 L2, For 0, Against 3. So it stands to reason that how you view national team coach Stuart Pearce - candidate for the permanent job or mere bench warmer? - will determine your betting strategy for the upcoming England match against Holland. If nothing else, it will add some interest to what would otherwise be another meaningless international friendly. England might meet Holland at this summer's European Championships but, in the mean time, can we use this logic to come up with some meaningful bets for the Wembley showdown? The widely held view is that friendlies aren't usually...