England v Brazil, Saturday 14th November

My Thoughts

England play Brazil this evening in a friendly match in Qatar, as they try to win the World Cup in more ways than one: a match against one of the very best sides in the world is sure to provide a thorough examination of their credentials for 2010, while delegates from their 2018 bid will no doubt be making representations to local businessman Mohmammed Bin Hamman, whose Saturday job happens to be FIFA vice-president. It's also more than reasonable to suspect that the FA's coffers will have been boosted by playing this match.

The Verdict
International friendlies are notoriously difficult to judge, with the likelihood that both sides will start considerably short of full-strength, and then make a plethora of substitutions during the game. England in particular have lost a number of first-choice players for this match, and this match will therefore be an opportunity to evaluate the likes of Wayne Bridge, Darren Bent, Ben Foster and James Milner at the highest level. Brazil, meanwhile, should still be able to field a strong side, given the depth in talent at Dunga's disposal. The Selecao were impressive in the Confederations Cup this summer, despite not appearing 100% convincing in defence (but if they were, they wouldn't be Brazil), and with the likes of Luis Fabiano and Robinho in attack, they should have too much for the Two Lions (it would be 3, but they're missing so many of their first-choice players) in Doha this evening.

The Bet
Brazil are available at a general 11/10, which represents great value. Alternatively, these two sides' games recently have tended to produce a few goals, so over 2.5 goals avaliable at a general 4/5 is worth a shout, as is Luis Fabiano to score anytime at 15/8 with Coral, although it might be an idea to wait until the starting line-ups are confirmed before placing any goalscorer bets