Paul Merson predicts Spain v England, Republic of Ireland v Wales and France v Germany
Written by News on 15/10/2018
The Magic Man is back with his predictions for the home nations in the Nations League. Will England spring a surprise in Spain?
England will have to be the first country to win a competitive international away in Spain since 1993 if they are to stand any chance of topping their group, while the Republic of Ireland and Wales lead the other home nations’ games, going head to head in Group B4.
Northern Ireland are also in action, travelling to Bosnia in another tough away fixture for Michael O’Neill’s men, while big guns France and Germany meet in Group A1 with the visitors looking to bounce back from a humbling 3-0 defeat to the Netherlands on Saturday.
Spain v England, live on Sky Sports Main Event on Monday from 7pm
I was at the Wembley game and can’t see anything but a Spain win. I thought England did alright in Croatia, they made some good chances but just couldn’t score. Spain are on a different level though. We had two golden opportunities on Friday, and putting the ball in the back of the net is all that matters over formations and everything else.
It’s different here too, one because we don’t keep the ball well enough and also because they keep it for fun. It’s a good marker, people will say Spain didn’t get as far as us in the World Cup, but they’re a good team – don’t worry about that.
PAUL PREDICTS: Spain 3-1 England (Choose your Sky Sports Six-a-Side team to win £1,000 here)
Bosnia v Northern Ireland, live on Monday on Sky Sports Football from 7.30pm
Northern Ireland always give their all, and they’re always hard to beat, but I think this is a hard game for them. I thought Northern Ireland were unlucky in Austria, and they could have got something about that game.
They always punch above their weight, and they will make it hard for Bosnia. What I like about them is how every player leaves everything out on the pitch, they give everything for every game and I like that about them, but this is a tough one.
PAUL PREDICTS: Bosnia 2-0 Northern Ireland (11/2 with Sky Bet)
France v Germany, live on Tuesday on Sky Sports Mix from 7.40pm
Germany were unlucky against Holland last week, it wasn’t a 3-0 game. They dominated parts of that game and had chances, but in the end two late goals made it look worse than it was.
When your confidence is low that can happen, and France had a wake-up call against Iceland in their friendly, but they’ll have a much stronger team out for the Germany game and I think they should win it.
PAUL PREDICTS: France 2-1 Germany (8/1 with Sky Bet)
Republic of Ireland v Wales, live on Tuesday on Sky Sports Football from 7pm
I think Ireland will win this because of the personnel Wales are missing. It’s a different game with Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey fit, but without them Ireland should have enough to get the result. I think they do a great job there, Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane, and I think they’ll just edge it.
It’s hard playing international football, and they don’t have the resources a country like England has by some way but they still manage to get results, so fair play.
PAUL PREDICTS: Republic of Ireland 1-0 Wales (5/1 with Sky Bet)
(c) Sky News 2018: Paul Merson predicts Spain v England, Republic of Ireland v Wales and France v Germany
