In the show “Vikings” it often shows the saxons as being completely outmatched by the Vikings and the Saxon’s would only win if they had a MASSIVE numbers advantage, Was this really the case or were they far more even?
No, if anything quite the opposite. Danish/"Viking" strategy in England was to avoid a fair fight as much as possible. On some occasions such as the Battle of Wilton, the English still go into battle against the Danes when woefully outnumbered, and still make a good showing of themselves. I wrote about Danish strategies, how the English countered them, and the effectiveness of the West Saxon and Mercian armies in battle against the Danes here