09 Sep 2023 / admin

England vs Argentina Prediction and Betting Tips

🏈 Rugby World Cup 2023 Match Preview

⏰ 10 September 2023 - 5:00 AEST

🏟 Stadium - Stade Vélodrome (Marseille)

Under the guidance of head coach Steve Borthwick, England only managed to secure fourth place in the Six Nations with a total of 10 points, marking one of the national team's least successful campaigns in the tournament.

They kicked off that competition by losing the Calcutta Cup 29-23 at Twickenham Stadium and were only able to beat Italy 31-14 and Wales 20-10 in that tournament, although both victories were far from impressive. Unfortunately for the English, their poor form did not end with the Six Nations as their warm-up fixtures were arguably a cause for even greater concern as they were beaten by Wales, Ireland and Fiji in the space of four matches.

However, while England are a long way from the fearsome team they were when they won the title back in 2003, they have been drawn into what many describe as the most favorable pool in the competition, and a win here could set them up perfectly for the remainder of the tournament with four very winnable fixtures to come. Meanwhile, the fact that Argentina come into this encounter as the favorite tells us everything we need to know about how they have improved over the last 12 months.

Los Pumas suffered a heavy defeat against the All Blacks at the 2023 Rugby Championship earlier in the year but put on an incredible display a week later to earn a famous 34-31 victory over Australia in Sydney. With that win, they also handed over the tournament's wooden spoon for the first time in the last six years and came very close to upsetting the Springboks in the final match of the competition, losing by just one point.

Since then, coach Michael Cheika's side were beaten once more by South Africa in Buenos Aires before thrashing Spain 62-3, which would have given them a nice little boost of confidence ahead of their opening World Cup match. Argentina recorded their best-ever finish in a World Cup here in France back in 2007 when they came third, and as one of the sides on an upward trajectory and in a favorable pool, Los Pumas have an excellent chance to go deep in this tournament.

Players to Watch:

Emiliano Boffelli (Argentina) - The winger is in good form and Argentina's main attacking weapon.
Owen Farrell (England) - The captain is suspended for this game but a key player.

Match Facts:

The teams have met 25 times before, with England winning 19 times.
However, Argentina did win the last meeting 26-21 in November 2021.
England lost to Fiji in their last match before the World Cup 30-22.
Argentina beat Spain 62-3 in their final warm-up match.
The game is being played at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille, France.

Match Prediction:

I'm backing a narrow Argentina win by around 5 points in what should be a tight contest between two strong teams. Argentina are in better current form and have momentum so can edge this one. Under 41.5 match points appeals with two solid defences. Boffelli can grab the first five-pointer out wide for Argentina.

Betting Tips: