It's that time again. For months, pressure and excitement have been simultaneously building up as England has prepared for another European Championships. Hushed whispers of "maybe it's our year" are met with ridicule and echo bad memories of tournaments past, whilst flags are popping up in bedroom windows across the nation and England fans are making themselves at home in France.
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With the attacking prowess of Jamie Vardy and Harry Kane - England's highest scoring strikers since Euro 2000 - and the dynamic talents of Dele Alli and Jack Wilshere, England should have no problem when on the front foot. Their attack boosts both speed and quality and should be more than capable of causing problems for Russia's ageing squad, the second oldest at the tournament.
Russia have more problems than simply being old though. They are without Euro 2012 top scorer Alan Dzagoev, who's midfield creativity drove CSKA to the Russian title this season; and defensive-midfielder Igor Denisov, who would have been tasked with tracking Dele Alli and was crucial for Russia when picking up 12 points and conceding once in their final four qualifying games.
The absence of Denisov is manageable for Leonid Slutsky with Roman Neustadter and Artur Yusopov waiting in the wings, but Dzagoev's injury is much more of a problem. Whilst the likes of Denis Glushakov and Pavel Mamaev can fill in, they are nowhere near as technically gifted as the CSKA midfielder so expect a lot of Russia's forward threat to come through frontman Artem Dzyuba.
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The Zenit striker scored 23 goals in 44 games for his side last season and has 9 goals in his 18 international games - a formidable record. He will be supported on the wings by Zenit teammates Oleg Shatov and Aleksandr Kokorin, as well as CSKA man Aleksandr Golovin - who has been attracting scouts from across Europe thanks to his impeccable ball control and reading of the game.
England, on the other hand, have no new injury worries coming into the tournament - leaving Roy Hodgson the luxury of choosing as strong a squad as possible. Harry Kane, who has 46 goals in his last two Premier League seasons, looks set to lead the line alone - with £49m Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling on the left and former-Southampton man Adam Lallana on the right.
Whilst it's not what I would personally have gone with, this gives England a lot of creativity going forward - especially with Dele Alli and captain Wayne Rooney in behind. Raheem Sterling should look to target Sergei Ignashevich who, at the ripe old age of 36, is no longer as mobile as he once was and could present a weakness when isolated - which will be something to look for should players like Jamie Vardy and Daniel Sturridge play a part in the game.
My best bet for this game then, is England to win EITHER half at 1/2. I'm being very patriotic and expecting England to win this one, the two sides couldn't be more different in their preparation for this tournament and I expect that to prevail in Marseille. However, I'm playing it a lot safer with England to win either half.
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Looking at a value bet and Harry Kane to score and England to win at 9/2 has really caught my eye. I originally expected this to be around 5/2 so you can imagine my surprise when I saw the price. Harry Kane is undoubtedly England's best source of goals - scoring five times in his 12 international games - and if he is to start as a lone striker as reports suggest then this looks even better. It's the same way Spurs play and could suit his game more than playing alongside Vardy or Sturridge.
Words By: @joshuapsjones
