Norway v England: free betting tips, preview and TV details

TV: BBC1, 8pm Thursday

The time has come for England to rise to the occasion and while manager Phil Neville has problems to ponder with his defence, he should be confident that his Lionesses possess the firepower to storm into the World Cup semi-finals.

Norway stand in the way of England matching their achievement of four years ago, when they reached the last four in Canada. As the third-best team in the world according to the Fifa rankings, that would be considered a par performance.

Injuries and illness have raised questions about their ability to see off the Norwegians - central defender Millie Bright is struggling with a virus while skipper Steph Houghton is battling the ankle injury she suffered in the closing stages of Sunday's 3-0 win over Cameroon.

Neville has tinkered with his line-ups for the last 18 months and wasted no time in informing the media on Wednesday that his approach of mixing and matching has been vindicated by this latest team news.

Arsenal's Leah Williamson and Manchester United's Abbie McManus are set to step in, which would mean a modest alteration, but the Lionesses can pose a major threat at the other end of the pitch.

America's Alex Morgan is the only striker still involved in the competition who has scored more goals than England's Ellen White, who has led the Lionesses' line superbly.

She benefits from great service whether it comes from Chelsea's Fran Kirby playing in the number-ten role or the width provided by Nikita Parris and Toni Duggan.

They also possess the best right-back in the tournament in Lyon's Lucy Bronze, who is an excellent provider of crosses upon which the Manchester City new girl can feast.

The Lionesses should be positive throughout, which makes more than one England goal an attractive bet at 11-10, and there is enough strength in reserve with Williamson's Arsenal teammate Beth Mead and Jodie Taylor, who was the top goalscorer at the Euros two years ago.

They will probably need two goals to see off Norway, who battled through a shootout to beat Australia and gave France an excellent game in Group A before falling to a debatable penalty decision and losing 2-1.

But they have the striking resources to do that and it could be enough to secure a semi-final place against the USA or France in Lyon on Tuesday.

Recommendation
Over 1.5 England goals
2pts 11-10 bet365, Betfred, Betway

Key stat
England have scored at least twice in eight of their last 11 matches

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