Andorra are 229/1 to beat England tonight, 79/1 to draw

England/Andorra, 8.15pm, ITV1, Free Bets, Best Odds

If there is one criticism of England under Fabio Capello, it’s that they take too long to break down minnows. It took 49 minutes to break down Andorra in Barcelona, 52 to find a way past Kazakhstan at Wembley and then 40 away to them last weekend. Andorra boss David Rodrigo has noticed the trend and plans to frustrate the Three Lions tonight, although Betfair odds of 229/1 show that he’s not expected to have much success. Here are some stats about what surely must be a home banker, even if it’s played in front of no fans:

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» England have won their three previous meetings with Andorra without conceding a goal, scoring ten in the process.

» Andorra coach Rodrigo’s claimed that “England have always had problems when they have played against us and have been made to work hard to get the first goal.” However, they were beaten 5-0 on their last trip to Wembley in 2006 with the opening goal coming in the fifth minute from Peter Crouch.

» The minnows have lost their last 20 competitive games and their overall record in qualifying games is P58 W1 D2 L55. They’ve taken just a point from 29 away qualifiers - a 0-0 draw in FYR Macedonia in February 2005.

» There have been signs of improvement however. None of their last 12 games have ended in defeat by a margin greater than four goals. They were disappointing at the weekend though, losing 5-1 away to Belarus.

» England haven’t scored more than five goals in a competitive game this decade, having scored six or more three times in the 90s. They have fired five in qualifying games against Germany, Andorra and Kazakhstan this decade, while grabbing six in friendlies with Iceland and Jamaica.

» While they have never scored against England, they have notched in their last two away games, and four of their last nine.

» Wayne Rooney hasn’t scored in his two previous starts against Andorra but has grabbed eight goals in his last six appearances for England.

» If Fabio Capello starts Peter Crouch then expect him to score. The Portsmouth striker has 13 goals in his last 13 starts for the Three Lions.

Posted: June 10th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn |