iBet: Sometimes the most obvious bets are the best

England v Spain, friendly international, Saturday, kick-off 5.15pm

Lay England at 3.9 to one with Betfair

I don’t normally like to bet on friendlies, but World Cup winners Spain have picked a very strong squad indeed for tomorrow’s match-up and the money has come in for them. Having opened up at 5/4 in places to win the game, Spain are now odds on, with England out to 100/30. That’s the biggest price they have been to win a game at Wembley in my memory. England manager Fabio Capello is without several key players including of course Wayne Rooney. Stephen Gerrard, Jack Wilshere, Rio Ferdinand and Ashley Young are also missing and John Terry is unlikely to play. So he will be fielding an experimental side in something of a no-lose situation – everyone expects them to be beaten by the best international team on the planet. Spain are not unbeatable in friendlies though – they lost in Italy in August, in Portugal last November and in Argentina last September. However, the facts are that the Spanish have better players in every position, with manager Vincente Del Bosque having called up Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas, Fernando Torres, David Silva, Sergio Ramos, Geard Pique, Xabi Alonso, David Villa and the mercurial Xavi. It’s a frightening line-up and Spain are guaranteed to enjoy the majority of the possession. With home advantage England could feasibly draw the game. But as long as Spain put in a shift they are very unlikely to beat the world champions, who frankly play football on a completely different level. Sometimes the most obvious bets are the best. Lay England.

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