England Women v Scotland Women: Lionesses set to roar in opener

Auld Enemies face off at UEFA Women’s Euro 2017, as England and Scotland battle for supremacy in the opening group game. But while the Scots have done well to reach their first major tournament since 1989, we can only see this game going one way.

The Lionesses have dispatched Austria, Switzerland and Denmark in their last three outings, conceding just one goal in the process and netting nine.

As for Scotland, their last two major tests – against Sweden and Belgium – ended in 1-0 and 5-0 defeats respectively.

That means 1/4 shots England look nailed-on for victory here, with the Scots 11/1 for a shock win and the draw priced up at 4/1.

However, the best value looks to lie elsewhere.

With such a strong defensive record, and facing a Scotland side who’ve failed to net in four of their last seven outings, we like the 20/23 for England to win to nil.

Elsewhere, the 6/10 for Both Teams to Score – No looks safe, with only three of the Lionesses’ last 10 outings seeing both sides register, while it hasn’t happened in any of the Scots’ previous five games.

But the best options for punters could lie in the Correct Score market. Scotland have received 5-0 and 7-0 drubbings at the hands of Belgium and the Netherlands in the past 12 months, and while we don’t think they’ll roll over as easily here, there could still be value in England easing past their opponents.

We like the 6/1 on offer for a 3-0 England victory, while a 2-0 half-time lead looks appealing at 24/5.

With the likes of Ellen White, Fran Kirby and Toni Duggan in the Lionesses’ ranks, we can’t see Scotland escaping with a much kinder fate than that.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing