Ukraine v England: Rooney-inspired England to claim victory

After eventually succumbing to defeat against France in their last outing, joint-hosts Ukraine must beat England at 12/5 to have any chance of advancing past the Euro 2012 group stage.

By contrast, their opponents England need only a draw to ensure progression to the quarter-final stage, and can be backed at 9/4 to achieve that outcome.

Roy Hodgson’s side should be eager to triumph in this match at 23/20 though, bearing in mind that a meeting with Spain will likely await the side finishing second in Group D.

All eyes will be on Wayne Rooney during this game, as the Manchester United forward looks set to be restored to the side after completing a two-match suspension.

Rooney is 5/2 to score at any time during an England win, which looks worthy of investment, whilst he is also a tempting 5/1 prospect to open the scoring on Tuesday night.

Alternatively, he can be backed at 2/1 to claim the man-of-the-match award, and seems a plausible option in this market, especially if he marks his return by getting on the scoresheet.

Away from Rooney, goal markets in general appear an interesting way to turn a profit on this match, in the aftermath of England bucking a recent trend of low-scoring matches against Sweden on Friday.

That was only the second Three Lions match in seven which featured in excess of two goals, but both of those matches resulted in 3-2 scorelines.

It is a big 25/1 about an English win via that score on Tuesday, whilst Hodgson’s charges can alternatively be backed to succeed in a game involving three or more goals at 11/4.

Patriotic punters feeling that England can rediscover their recent defensive sturdiness though, can back them to obtain a seventh clean sheet in 11 games at 7/4.

Meanwhile, some could choose to take up the bigger 5/2 odds about an English victory in which they don’t concede.