Expert Pick - France v England

France v England
Friendly
Wednesday, 8pm (UK time)

This is new England manager Fabio Capello's game in charge and his promotion of Rio Ferdinand to the England captaincy suggests we should expect the unexpected in Fabio Capello's era, although a friendly in March when England have nothing to play for will in all likelihood be a low-key encounter.

Apart from the fact it's a friendly there are plenty of other reasons to suggest England might not be that motivated here. Twelve of England's 23-man party are still in the Champions League while the same argument applies to France with at least 11 of the squad still competing in the CL.

It is always risky to predict the outcome of a game when it's so difficult to predict the starting line-ups, the changes will that will occur (and when) during the match and the players' motivation levels. But if anything, France have more problems than England here because they're missing a greater number of regular starters. This could play into England's hands although if you are going to have a bet keep the stake small as friendlies are so difficult to predict.

Betting Recommendations:

1pt on England to win at 11/5

1pt Draw/England in the Half-time/Full-time market