England Women face Australia at Pride Park tonight (7pm, ITV4) as they seek to recover from a disappointing 2-1 defeat by Brazil on Saturday. Sarina Wiegman’s side fell behind early at the Etihad, with Brazil racing to a two-goal lead inside 18 minutes. Despite a red card for Brazil’s Angelina, England could only manage a Georgia Stanway penalty and hit the crossbar late on.
The Lionesses last met Australia in the 2023 Women’s World Cup semi-final, winning 3-1 in Sydney. England lead the head-to-head 3-2, but Australia won their last visit to England 2-0 in April 2023. Australia, now managed by former Arsenal boss Joe Montemurro, beat Wales 2-1 on Saturday, with Caitlin Foord scoring a late winner.
England are without captain Leah Williamson, forwards Lauren Hemp and Lauren James, and midfielders Jess Park and Grace Clinton. Goalkeeper Hannah Hampton is also a doubt. Khiara Keating made her debut against Brazil. Australia’s Sam Kerr, the all-time leading Australian international scorer, returned from a 20-month injury layoff in Saturday’s win and is expected to feature.
Betting sites heavily favour England at 4/11, but the match may be closer than odds suggest. One tip is both teams to score and no draw at 7/5 with William Hill, while Kerr to score at any time is 13/5. Gambling responsibly is advised, with tools like deposit limits and self-exclusion available.
