England are currently ahead in their group and with five more matches to go, they look in firm control to qualify for South Africa next year. Capello has steadied the ship in the England squad after some poor management by Ericsson and McClaren, overall they are more compact and definitely look more assured as a unit. The only slight concern for England is that some of their stars might suffer the after effects of a gruelling season but the thing is Kazakhstan are mainly made up of a group of part time players and even their manager said that he would be glad if their players ensure they lose by a respectable margin.

In the reverse fixture, England thrashed Kazakhstan by a score of 5-1 and I do believe they will suffer a similar fate today. So far England have a 5-0 record in their group stages with 16 goals scored and only four conceded. Kazakhstan on the other hand have one of the worse defences around in Europe and hence I would easily bet on England winning by at least two goals and if they are in the mode, things could get ugly for the home side. Go for England under the Asian Handicap.

Pick: England -2.5 @2.17