England v Hungary predictions: Ruthless hosts should extend fine run of form

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for England v Hungary in 2022 World Cup qualifying on Tuesday.

Where to watch

ITV, 7.45pm Tuesday

Best bet

England to win 3-0
1pt 5-1 general

England to win 4-0
1pt 8-1 Betfair, Paddy Power

Team news

England
Reece James, Harry Maguire and Kalvin Phillips are injured. Harry Kane, Declan Rice, Raheem Sterling and goalkeeper Jordan Pickford are likely to return to the starting 11.

Hungary
Endre Botka is suspended so Adam Lang should come into defence. Mark Tamas and Attila Fiola are injured while skipper and leading scorer Adam Szalai is sidelined after knee surgery last month.

Match preview

Saturday's World Cup qualifier in Andorra was the perfect exercise in squad rotation for England manager Gareth Southgate, whose side eased to a 5-0 win, racking up 17 shots to their opponents' one and hogging 86 per cent of possession.

The reward for most of the England starters in that Pyrenees stroll will be to drop down to the bench as Southgate unleashes first-team regulars such as Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Mason Mount, Declan Rice and goalkeeper Jordan Pickford for the clash with Hungary at Wembley.

England won last month's reverse fixture in Budapest 4-0, scoring four times during a dazzling second-half display.

That was the Three Lions' first outing since their devastating defeat to Italy on penalties in the final of Euro 2020 and Southgate will have been delighted with the character and quality shown by his players on a tough night.

Straightforward England qualifying victories can almost be taken for granted under Southgate and the only stumble on their path to next year's finals in Qatar was an injury-time equaliser from Poland's Damian Szymanski last month.

England have won their other six matches in World Cup qualifying Group I by an aggregate score of 22-1 and their strongest available starting 11, backed up by substitutes of the calibre of Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka, should breeze past a depleted Hungary side.

Marco Rossi's men exceeded expectations with their performances in a brutal group at Euro 2020. They stood firm for 84 minutes against Portugal in their opening game before conceding three late goals and held world champions France to a 1-1 draw on matchday two.

Hungary were six minutes away from sealing a place in the last 16 at Germany's expense before Leon Goretzka's goal for Die Mannschaft made it 2-2 and they have suffered something of a post-Euros hangover.

Saturday's home game against Albania was played behind closed doors and Hungary struggled to create chances in a 1-0 defeat.

They lost September's reverse fixture in Albania by the same scoreline before edging past Andorra 2-1 so their chances of a positive result at Wembley look slim.

Captain, and leading current international goalscorer, Adam Szalai is out after knee surgery and Rossi's defensive options have been weakened by injuries and the suspension of Endre Botka.

Hungary have had just ten shots on target in four games since the Euros so correct-score punters are advised to bank on an England clean sheet.

The Three Lions have won 12 of their last 17 internationals to nil and splitting stakes between a 3-0 and 4-0 home victory could be the way to go.

Key stat

England have conceded only one first-half goal in 16 matches in 2021.

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