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2020 European Championship Group D Predictions


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England

They are certainly the top team in the Tournament because most of their players are from top Chelsea and Manchester City. And they are in form, which have not suffered any defeat in 2021 yet, even getting 5 clean sheets.

 

Croatia

They can not be ignored as they were the second in 2018 FIFA World Cup. Mateo Kovacic of Chelsea and Sime Vrsaljko of Atletico Madrid have been in squad this season. They have made great preparation for the Tournament, which can be seen in their recent games.

 

Verdict:

There is a gap between two teams. England are top teams with high quality. Croatia are full of potential but lack stability. In addition, England have home advantage. They are in high morale with a long winning streak. So England are more likely to win in upcoming game.

 

Prediction: 1-0, 2-0

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England vs Croatia

The big one for a majority of our members on this forum is coming up at 2pm BST on Sunday afternoon when Group D kicks off with England playing arguably their biggest challengers to the top spot in the group in Croatia at Wembley Stadium. Would it be too presumptuous to say that whoever wins this game should go on to win the group? Yes, it would but there's no denying that whoever loses will suddenly have a lot of pressure piled on them.

England are coming into this tournament knowing that after reaching the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and now possessing a squad full of players that have a few more years of international experience plus incredible young talent coming through they are being backed to make an impression at this tournament. Memories of pain against Croatia still fill English minds with the 3-2 defeat at home in the 2008 European Championship qualifiers that prevented England from reaching that tournament and the 2-1 loss in the semi-final at the last World Cup. Gareth Southgate appears set to put a stall out that will ensure his side simply don't lose this game. Rumours are circulating that the likes of Jack Grealish and Phil Foden could be kept on the bench with the Three Lions likely to start with a 5-man defensive line. A couple of defeats to Denmark and Belgium in the UEFA Nations League saw England fail to reach the semi-finals in that competition but 3 wins from 3 games in their 2022 World Cup qualifiers has put them on a positive footing heading into this tournament.

Croatia might have been losing finalists at the 2018 World Cup but you have to question whether this squad comes close to matching the quality and performances of the side that achieved that feat 3 years ago. Head coach Zlatko Dalic has a number of key players from that tournament that have aged including the influential Luka Modric. The Real Madrid midfielder is still undoubtedly a top class talent but his involvement in games at this tournament will certainly not be as impactful as at the last World Cup. He's 35 years old now. He's not the only star player entering his twilight years. Domagoj Vida, Milan Badelj, and Ivan Perisic are all well into their 30s. Not forgetting that talisman striker Mario Mandzukic is no longer involved. It's anticipated that Croatia are fully aware they are not the force of 3 years ago. A disappointing UEFA Nations League campaign saw them avoid relegation to League B by the virtue of goal difference. There aren't any real standout youngsters coming through the ranks who you feel can succeed the likes of Modric, Mandzukic, and Perisic. It's also just 2 wins from their last 9 games and they came against the minnows of Cyprus and Malta.

It's clear that Croatia have a confidence issue right now and will likely sit back, try to soak up the English pressure, and look to hit them on the counter. Strangely, England also seem to still be haunted by the ghost of the Balkan nation and if Southgate does set up in a back 5 then we could see a really dour game where both teams lack the courage to go for the win. I'd be astonished if England lose this game but I fear they could fail to win it from a lack of self belief. I wouldn't be surprised if this ended in a draw. It will simply depend on whether Southgate has the tactical bravery to go for the win or not. Due to the value of a win being so poor I'll go for the draw because I don't think either side would be overly disappointed with that outcome.

Draw @ 3.86 with VBet

Total Goals Scored Under 2.5 @ 1.72 with SBK

 

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England vs Croatia

England heads to this tournament after celebrating in each of their last six matches. They opened the World Cup Quals campaign with three victories in their group, beating Poland at home as their major contender for the top spot. Gareth Southgate’s side continued in the same fashion in the warm-up for EURO 2020, celebrating against Austria and Romania. Harry Kane and the lads hope to challenge the title, and England is definitely considered one of the contenders. The Three Lions aim for a positive start and a more comfortable situation in the group stage. Croatia is their biggest rival for the top spot in the group, as there are also Scotland and the Czech Republic.

Croatia had a great World Cup campaign, and they hope to repeat it once again. However, Vatreni haven’t been in good form lately, as they failed to win in both prep matches. Zlatko Dalic’s side was disappointing with a 1:1 draw against Armenia, while they suffered a 1:0 defeat against Belgium. The Red Devils have been a much more dangerous rival in that game, and Croatia could lose with a more significant margin. Luka Modric and the lads opened their World Cup Quals with a 1:0 defeat in Slovenia but managed to bounce back with two straight wins. Croatia needs to be much more confident and disciplined if they want to remain undefeated in this clash.

Full-Time Winner Odds & Prediction

England seems to be in a better momentum, and they could keep up where they left off. Although Croatia is always a tricky opponent, we believe the Three Lions will deliver a victory. After losing in the World Cup 2018 semi-finals, England booked a win and drew against this opponent.

Goals Market Prediction

Although their recent rivals weren’t top-class ones, England failed to keep the clean sheet only once on the previous six occasions. As Croatia hasn’t been too efficient lately, we expect to see a very tight game that shouldn’t go over a 2.5 margin.

England to Win @ 1.65 

Under 2.5 FT @ 1.65 

Correct score 1:0 @ 6.00 

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23 hours ago, StevieDay1983 said:

England vs Croatia

The big one for a majority of our members on this forum is coming up at 2pm BST on Sunday afternoon when Group D kicks off with England playing arguably their biggest challengers to the top spot in the group in Croatia at Wembley Stadium. Would it be too presumptuous to say that whoever wins this game should go on to win the group? Yes, it would but there's no denying that whoever loses will suddenly have a lot of pressure piled on them.

England are coming into this tournament knowing that after reaching the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and now possessing a squad full of players that have a few more years of international experience plus incredible young talent coming through they are being backed to make an impression at this tournament. Memories of pain against Croatia still fill English minds with the 3-2 defeat at home in the 2008 European Championship qualifiers that prevented England from reaching that tournament and the 2-1 loss in the semi-final at the last World Cup. Gareth Southgate appears set to put a stall out that will ensure his side simply don't lose this game. Rumours are circulating that the likes of Jack Grealish and Phil Foden could be kept on the bench with the Three Lions likely to start with a 5-man defensive line. A couple of defeats to Denmark and Belgium in the UEFA Nations League saw England fail to reach the semi-finals in that competition but 3 wins from 3 games in their 2022 World Cup qualifiers has put them on a positive footing heading into this tournament.

Croatia might have been losing finalists at the 2018 World Cup but you have to question whether this squad comes close to matching the quality and performances of the side that achieved that feat 3 years ago. Head coach Zlatko Dalic has a number of key players from that tournament that have aged including the influential Luka Modric. The Real Madrid midfielder is still undoubtedly a top class talent but his involvement in games at this tournament will certainly not be as impactful as at the last World Cup. He's 35 years old now. He's not the only star player entering his twilight years. Domagoj Vida, Milan Badelj, and Ivan Perisic are all well into their 30s. Not forgetting that talisman striker Mario Mandzukic is no longer involved. It's anticipated that Croatia are fully aware they are not the force of 3 years ago. A disappointing UEFA Nations League campaign saw them avoid relegation to League B by the virtue of goal difference. There aren't any real standout youngsters coming through the ranks who you feel can succeed the likes of Modric, Mandzukic, and Perisic. It's also just 2 wins from their last 9 games and they came against the minnows of Cyprus and Malta.

It's clear that Croatia have a confidence issue right now and will likely sit back, try to soak up the English pressure, and look to hit them on the counter. Strangely, England also seem to still be haunted by the ghost of the Balkan nation and if Southgate does set up in a back 5 then we could see a really dour game where both teams lack the courage to go for the win. I'd be astonished if England lose this game but I fear they could fail to win it from a lack of self belief. I wouldn't be surprised if this ended in a draw. It will simply depend on whether Southgate has the tactical bravery to go for the win or not. Due to the value of a win being so poor I'll go for the draw because I don't think either side would be overly disappointed with that outcome.

Draw @ 3.86 with VBet

Total Goals Scored Under 2.5 @ 1.72 with SBK

 

i think this is a decent shout as i expect to be underwhelmed by england. I think southgate should be finding room for grealish in the team but he will probably pick sterling.

Also with a dodgy keeper and potentially dodgy centre back partnership (assuming stones and mings), he will probably select rice and phillips in centre midfield as protection which will stifle creativity. I can't see why phillips should be ahead of bellingham if he wants 2 defensive centre midfielders.

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20 points on England to win at evens with Hills

I’m just taking the obvious value here v the regular price which is shortening. This was a “scratch of the day” offer.

I think it could be tight and maybe feisty (so will look at the card lines) and nothing wrong with the draw as shout but I fancy England to win 1 or 2 nil and am happy to back them at evens.

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England vs Croatia

Vast majority seems to be on England and Under. I beg to differ. Croatia is not what it was without Rakitic and Mandzukic, having lost a lot of firepower with those two they're still a good team and @7 is just crazy.

Not gonna go into too much details here so here are the bets:

Over 2,5 @ 2.08 1,5u

Croatia ML @ 7 0,5u

Croatia +1 @ 1.95 1u

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Scotland vs Czech Republic

The Group D action continues on Monday afternoon at 2pm BST from the Hampden Park in Glasgow when Scotland will start their campaign against a Czech Republic side they are more than familiar with having played them twice in the UEFA Nations League recently. Can one of the host nations being the tournament with a win or will their opponents gain revenge after their two previous meetings?

Scotland are in their first major international tournament since 1998 and they have the honour of playing that game on home turf as a selected home nation. Steve Clarke will see this as the best chance his team has to get a win in this group. The Tartan Army grabbed two wins over Czech Republic in the UEFA Nations League even though the Czechs were hampered by covid-19 outbreaks. Scotland have only lost 2 of their last 16 matches and it's also been 8 games unbeaten on home territory for the team in a run that stretches back to September, 2019. This is a Scotland side that boasts a number of quality players such as Andrew Robertson, Kieran Tierney, Scott McTominay, John McGinn, and Billy Gilmour. As they build momentum with results you can't help but feel they could be a spanner in the works of this group.

Czech Republic have a decent history in the European Championship having narrowly missed out on winning the 1996 tournament after losing to the golden goal against Germany in the final. Unfortunately, their recent track record in this competition isn't great having lost 5 of their last 6 European Championship matches. Head coach Jaroslav Silhavy has a team unit that has proven hard to break down in recent years. Just 1 win from their last 4 matches also shows they're lacking form coming into this tournament. Their 1-0 loss away to Wales has also left their 2022 World Cup qualifying chances in doubt. You look at this squad and they lack world class stars with the likes of Pavel Kaderabek, Vladimir Darida, and Tomas Soucek not quite matching the talents of previous icons such as Tomas Rosicky, Pavel Nedved, and Petr Cech but they remain a team that won't be beaten easily.

Yes, Scotland have a psychological advantage over Czech Republic having beaten them in their last three meetings and with the last two victories coming so recently. There is no doubt that Czech Republic will be a tough opponent and have their own threats but you just feel that Scotland have waited so long for this that it feels a lot like Wales versus Slovakia back in 2016. I think Scotland have to be backed on home turf here. I will also be putting my standard John McGinn anytime scorer bet down! :lol

Scotland Draw No Bet @ 2.00 with Betfred

Anytime Scorer: John McGinn @ 7.00 with Betfair

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Scotland vs Czech Republic

The home side booked their ticket for the major competition after a quarter of the century. The last time they participated in the big stage was in EURO 1996, which they ended in the group stage. In fact, Scotland has never reached the knockout stage, and the hosts fancy their chances of taking a step forward this time. However, Steve Clarke’s side will have a challenging task, having England and Croatia as the major favorites for proceeding further. Ryan Christie and the lads are in solid form, haven’t lost in the last five games. Nevertheless, they have been involved in many draws, but the latest one against the Netherlands seems promising. Scotland scored five times in a row, and they will be hoping for continuing that streak. Playing at the home ground should be their significant advantage ahead of this clash, and with a potential victory, Scotland could challenge the knockout stage spot.

The Czech Republic heads to this tournament after being in an inconsistent form. The visitors celebrated just once on the previous four occasions, and that win came against Albania. Jaroslav Silhavi’s side suffered a tough 4:0 defeat against Italy in the warm-up for EURO 2020, and they need to improve against stronger teams. Tomas Soucek and the lads had troubles converting their chances into goals lately, as they netted only once in three games before the victory against Albania. The away side picked up four points from three rounds in their World Cup Quals group and could do a bit better. The Czech Republic hopes to continue the campaign after the group stage, and they will search for a point at least.

Full-Time Winner Odds & Prediction

These two sides met each other in the UEFA Nations League, and Scotland was better on both occasions. However, the Czech Republic had selection troubles due to the Covid-19 pandemic in these matches. Nevertheless, the hosts won’t have a better chance to book a victory, and we believe they will deliver it.

Goals Market Prediction

We expect to see a tight match, as both sides will be cautious and focused on avoiding mistakes in the middle of the park. There shouldn’t be more than two goals in total.

Scotland to Win @ 2.70 

Under 2.5 FT @ 1.55 

Correct score 1:0 @ 7.50

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Croatia vs Czech Republic

The current World Cup runners-up suffered a defeat in the EURO 2020 opener, as England celebrated a narrow 1:0 win. They now have a crucial game ahead of them if they don’t want to get in danger of finishing the campaign on the group stage. Zlatko Dalic’s side seems to be in poor momentum, as they failed to win on the last three occasions. Although defeats against Belgium and England are not too surprising, they needed to beat Armenia in the warm-up match. Luka Modric and the lads struggle in front of the oppositions’ net lately, as they scored just once in the previous three games. If they fail to win again, Croatia hopes to finish in the top two may vanish.

The Czech Republic managed to beat Scotland in the opening round at this venue after a 2:0 victory. Patrik Schick’s brace brought them very close to securing a place in the knockout stage, and they can accomplish that after this match. Although they haven’t been too consistent lately, Jaroslav Silhavy’s side put a quite confident performance in their first game in the tournament. They celebrated twice in a row, hoping that they can keep that run going. The Czech Republic finally managed to keep the clean sheet after five straight games of conceding. A victory from this one can guarantee them more battles starting from the eight-finals.

Full-Time Winner Odds & Prediction

It is a vital game for both teams, and the stake is enormous. Croatia plays to keep its chances of advancing further, while the Czech Republic wants to complete the job in the group stage. The game should be very exciting, and we wouldn’t be surprised if it ends in a draw.

Goals Market Prediction

Croatia doesn’t have much time to wait, and they should go with an attacking mentality in this game. The Czech Republic can perfectly exploit any chance of the counterattack, and therefore, we expect to see goals in both nets.

Draw @ 3.30 

BTTS Yes @1.90 

Correct score 1:1 @ 6.50

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England vs Scotland

The Three Lions finally had a victorious start in EUROs after beating Croatia 1:0 in the opening round. Raheem Sterling’s second-half winner provided a significant boost of confidence to the hosts. England managed to revenge for a defeat in the World Cup 2018 semi-finals and get very close to progressing to the knockout stage. Gareth Southgate’s side entered a winning streak, as they celebrated seven times in a row. They have been pretty hard to crack in the back, as England conceded only once during that run. The hosts booked three straight 1:0 wins, and they want to continue in the same fashion.

It seems that Scotland won’t make it through the group stage once again. They suffered a 2:0 defeat against the Czech Republic at the home ground and found themselves in a very challenging position. They face England at Wembley Stadium and then Croatia in the last round. Steve Clarke’s side was disappointing in their first game and should improve a lot to remain undefeated in this one. Although they had a couple of good opportunities, Scotland still needs to work hard to enjoy a successful campaign. David Turnbull and the lads lost after five matches without a defeat, and they want to get back on the upbeat track. However, the visitors have a very challenging game ahead.

Full-Time Winner Odds & Prediction

England is a firm favorite in this one, and a victory against Croatia significantly impacted their motivation. We believe they shouldn’t have any problems against Scotland and could book a comfortable win. Since the odds on the straight win are slim, we want to boost them with Asian Handicap.

Goals Market Prediction

The Three Lions have been defensively excellent, while Scotland struggled in front of the oppositions’ net. This could be another game where England might keep the clean sheet.

England AH -1 @ 1.50 

BTTS No @1.55 

Correct score 3:0 @ 8.50

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England

Even if Jadon Sancho is absent, they still take the upper hand over Croatia in last game and get a 1-0 victory. They play aggressively, getting a three-match winning streak even with three clean sheets. There is a bad news that Harry Kane is hurt in last game, which will has an impact on England.

Scotland

They have more than 60% possession percentage in last game, but have no scoring goal. Their ineffective strike force leads to a 0-2 defeat. Luckily most of their players play for English football. They are familiar with England.

Verdict:

England are certainly better than Scotland. And they take the upper hand over Scotland in past head-to-head clashes with a record of 3W-1D. What’s more, they have home advantage. So the victory is tending to the host.

Pick : 1

http://www.goaloong.net/news/698409

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Croatia

They are an ageing team with a lack of young and talented players. Most of their players are not in form, which can be seen from games in June. They have been winless for three matches with only one scoring goal.

Czech

It is out of expectation that they get a 2-0 clean sheet from Scotland in last game. Patrik Schick play especially well in that game, who scores twice and make the scoring goal from the longest distance in the Tournament. Now they are in high morale.

Verdict:

There is a gap between two teams. Croatia are on a downward as there are no good young players to bring in. Czech are in high morale with a two-match losing streak. It is predicted that Czech will take one point from Croatia in upcoming game at least.

Pick: 1

http://www.goaloong.net/news/698408

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39 minutes ago, harry_rag said:

@goaloong Good luck with the bets but no need to start your own threads for every match. Just post in the relevant group predictions thread with the rest of us. :ok

Yes, Harry is right, @goaloong. I've merged your topic with this one where we put all the Group D predictions. :ok

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Croatia vs Czech Republic

It's the second round of Group D matches on Friday with the first game up being Croatia versus Czech Republic in a 5pm BST start at Hampden Park in Glasgow. It was a contrasting start to the 2020 European Championship for these two teams with one side suffering defeat to England and the other earning a hard-fought win against Scotland. Can either time seal a victory here to give their last 16 hopes a boost?

Croatia might have been finalists at the 2018 World Cup but they received a stark reminder from England in their opening game that a lot has changed in the last 3 years. Head coach Zlatko Dalic will be disappointed that his team conceded the one goal to lose 1-0 but, let's be honest, it really could and should have been a wider margin of victory for England in what was a largely one-sided affair. Vetreni will welcome back centre back Dejan Lovren for this game after he missed the England game through injury. It'll be interesting to see if the Croats can get Luka Modric on the ball further up the pitch as well which seemed to be a restrictive issue for them in that opening match. Form does continue to be a concern for Croatia with the team now earning just 2 wins from their last 10 games. However, is history on their side having never lost their second group game at a major tournament in 10 attempts?

Czech Republic will be bouncing after the convincing 2-0 win over host nation Scotland in their opening match. Jaroslav Silhavy's men weathered an early Scottish storm to keep the score at 0-0 before a brace from striker Patrik Schick sealed the victory. His second being a stunner from the halfway line that has turned Scotland keeper David Marshall into a comedy meme across the internet. Poor, Dave. The fact his penalty save got them to the finals in the first place is now seemingly irrelevant! Anyway, Czech Republic now have a chance to win their first two group stages of a major tournament for the first time since the 2004 European Championship. Schick also appears the man to back as anytime scorer having now bagged 8 goals in his last 9 starts for his nation.

These two sides did meet at the 2016 European Championship with the game ending in an entertaining 2-2 draw. Croatia are undefeated in their last three meetings with Czech Republic so will be confident they can keep their last 16 hopes firmly alive by getting something from this game. This fixture does historically boast goals with an average of 4 goals scored in each of the last three encounters. I can see something similar here with Croatia prevailing as victors.

Croatia to Win @ 2.40 with SportNation

BTTS @ 2.02 with SBK

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If (like me) you feel that John McGinn may fall foul of the Spanish referee, it may be worth considering a buy of his card minutes. Spreadex are 20 to buy and Sporting Index 19. However, if you check out SPIN's John McGinn's Specials, then his card mins are only 17 to buy. [If Grealish plays, I expect McGinn to be even more fired up].

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England vs Scotland

The last game of the day on Friday at the 2020 European Championship is the big one when bitter rivals England and Scotland go head-to-head in an 8pm BST kick-off at Wembley Stadium. At long last we can finally stop having to see video clips of Paul Gascoigne's superb goal scored against the Scots at Euro '96 but will we see an upset happen here or will the expected outcome occur?

England looked very assured in their opening game 1-0 win over former bogey side Croatia. Gareth Southgate's team selection caused a stir with Kieran Trippier starting at left back and Tyrone Mings being given a start at centre back but they were decisions that paid off for the Three Lions as a Raheem Sterling goal was enough to make the difference between the two teams. England are considered as one of the tournament favourites but questions still remain over whether they have what it takes to go all the way. The performance against Croatia was accomplished but then the Croats didn't exactly pose any real threat. Centre back Harry Maguire is set to return but will Southgate bring him straight into the starting line-up or will he keep the faith with the defensive line that kept a clean sheet against Croatia?

Scotland know that a lot is riding on this game. The 2-0 opening game loss to Czech Republic on home territory was disappointing but it did show how dangerous Scotland can be when they get their tails up. Kieran Tierney is set to return to the Scottish side and that'll give them a different dimension to what we saw in that first game. Head coach Steve Clarke is aware that defeat would leave Scotland's last 16 hopes hanging by a thread but the odds of a victory or even a draw seem next to zero if you believe the odds being offered. Clarke will have been encouraged by Scotland's 19 shots on goal against Czech Republic but the fact they failed to score a single goal will cause him concern in equal measure.

It's really hard to see how Scotland can get anything from this game. I'm sorry to sound so pessimistic @allyhibs because I'd love to see a Scotland win as a fan of the underdog but I'm not sure they have the quality to compete with teams in the echelons of England etc yet. I'm anticipating a dogged and gritty performance from the Scots but I think the quality and depth of England will prove too much and we'll see a solid win for the host team.

England HT/FT @ 2.02 with SBK

England -1 @ 1.95 with RedZone

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3 minutes ago, Labrador said:

If (like me) you feel that John McGinn may fall foul of the Spanish referee, it may be worth considering a buy of his card minutes. Spreadex are 20 to buy and Sporting Index 19. However, if you check out SPIN's John McGinn's Specials, then his card mins are only 17 to buy. [If Grealish plays, I expect McGinn to be even more fired up].

I definitely think the cards market is where the money is at today. A wet and slick pitch between two teams that are going to be going all out in a physical encounter. John McGinn, Scott McTominay, and Kalvin Phillips are all tempting prices. @harry_rag are you on board with that?

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6 minutes ago, StevieDay1983 said:

John McGinn, Scott McTominay, and Kalvin Phillips are all tempting prices. @harry_rag are you on board with that?

I’ll be having a look shortly when I recover from jet lag after travelling home from the Fylde coast! McGinn certainly appeals, I think the RP have tipped him for this game and flagged him as the Scottish “card magnet” pre tournament.

Much as I admire @Labrador finding a sneaky angle to eke out a bit more value I’m sure I might be able to find some obscure way to get even better terms! ;) 

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