Visit Betway's football betting page. 

England Women made a slow start to their World Cup bid with a pair of 1-0 wins over minnows Haiti and European rivals Denmark but then kicked into gear - demolishing China 6-1 in their final group fixture.

The Lionesses are the new favourites to win the Women’s World Cup outright after the USA’s surprise exit at the hands of Sweden and they now come up against one of the tournament’s surprise packages in the shape of Nigeria in the last 16.

The Super Falcons held a strong Canada side to a 0-0 draw in their opener and then produced one of the shocks of the tournament by beating co-hosts Australia, before another goalless stalemate with Ireland proved to be enough for them to finish in second spot in Group B.

England defence can hold out

England proved far too strong for China and were 3-0 up before their perfect defensive record Down Under was brought to an end by a second-half penalty. Sarina Wiegman’s side should face a tougher test against Nigeria, but they can still win fairly comfortably and backing the European champions to win without conceding looks the best bet here.

Nigeria are a physically strong side who have proven to be incredibly well organised in Australia and New Zealand. The African team have only conceded twice and both of those goals came in their 3-2 win over the Matildas, with Nigeria keeping clean sheet against both Canada and Ireland.

This could be more of a tactical battle for England than they faced against China and they are likely to dominate possession for large periods - but Nigeria have shown they are capable of defending.

The Lionesses have the quality to make a breakthrough, however, and that should tell over 90 minutes. England can win without conceding as they have three clean sheets in their last four games, all wins, and Nigeria have failed to score in two of their World Cup games despite being unbeaten - and each of their last three losses have been to nil.

Russo the clear opener pick

Alessia Russo failed to score in her first two World Cup games but got off the mark against China with the opener and can back that up by breaking the deadlock on Monday.

The 24-year-old scored 10 goals in 20 games for Manchester United in the Women’s Super League season and she has been the first scorer in two of the last four fixtures she has scored in.

Russo should go into the game against Nigeria in a confident mood after getting off the mark in England’s final group game, so Arsenal’s new recruit looks a strong contender to break the deadlock, having scored 11 goals in her last 18 appearances for her country.

TIPS

England To Win and Both Teams To Score - No

Alessia Russo to score first