England are back in the World Cup qualifiers and their first match of the international break will be against Andorra on Saturday.
The Three Lions are sitting pretty at the top of the group with 16 points from their first five matches and given that Andorra have lost 35 of their last 38 matches in this particular tournament, Gareth Southgate has very little to worry about.
England have been in terrific form in the FIFA World Cup in recent times and we do not see them losing on Saturday either. Andorra’s pitch is not of the finest grade so the away side could face a few hiccups but in the end, we expect them to see this one through.
Gareth Southgate will be missing some key players during the break but he still has a very strong squad meaning several first-team players are likely to see no game time in the upcoming two matches.
England team news vs Andorra:
John Stones has seen very little game time this season for Manchester City but he is in line to start on Saturday and since Harry Maguire is ruled out with an injury, Tyrone Mings will be coming into the side.
Reece James has pulled out from the England squad due to an injury so Kieran Trippier is expected to play at right-back. The manager also has the option of using Kyle Walker.
Kalvin Phillips is another player who has pulled out of the squad due to an injury meaning Jordan Henderson could come into the starting line-up.
Declan Rice is going to start in defensive midfield and since Andorra are not the strongest of opponents the England boss could name a move attacking line up.
This means Henderson might be held back with Mason Mount starting in midfield alongside Rice. James Ward-Prowse came into the side replacing Phillips and he could be given the nod. Phil Foden is also an option.
Jadon Sancho has been struggling to cope up with life at Manchester United and Gareth Southgate has admitted that he is even lucky to be in the England squad. We do not expect him to start vs Andorra.
“With Jadon, I’m not surprised, really,” said Southgate, as quoted. “The Bundesliga is totally different, Dortmund is a big club but Manchester United is one of the biggest in the world.
“Does he deserve to be in on these performances over the last few weeks? Well probably not, but I think we feel we have invested in Jadon over a period of time, we believe he can get to a high level.”
Tammy Abraham was a late addition to the squad but we doubt if he is going to get a start on Saturday. Ideally, Harry Kane should be starting upfront but the pitch at the Estadi Nacional stadium is not great so Gareth Southgate is likely to hold him back.
This would mean Ollie Watkins will start as the main centre forward.
England predicted line up vs Andorra:
Predicted Starting XI(4-3-3): Pickford; Trippier, Luke Shaw, Tyrone Mings, John Stones; Declan Rice, Foden/Henderson, Mount; Jack Grealish, Saka/Sterling, Watkins/Kane.