We’re at the end of the extended international break, and England have used this time to shake off their World Cup hangover with some decent performances against some top sides, and despite starting with defeat and still chasing Spain in the Nations League group, their last outing putting 7 past a woeful Croatia side has really built momentum, confidence and belief once again in this England side.

In our preview of the game we are going to take a look at the team news coming into the game including our predicted XI for this one, we will have a look at some of the key battles and players to watch and then of course we will make a prediction for how this one could play out.

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Team News

With the fourth game of this international break, England have seen a few players continue to drop away from the squad, with Konsa returning to Arsenal for treatment, and Alex Scott also withdraws for this final clash after suffering a thigh injury despite putting in a solid performance against Croatia on Saturday.

As it stands, it’s expected England will rotate again in some areas with a few players with less minutes being given a start. We could see the centre-back pairing of Branthwaite and Chalobah together, Lewis-Skelly will likely return to partner Anderson and Rogers could be in ahead of the hugely impressive Bellingham for rotation, as Kane still leads the line chasing down the caps record of Peter Shilton.

Predicted XI: Pickford, Hall, Branthwaite, Chalobah, Trent, Lewis-Skelly, Anderson, Gordon, Rogers, Saka, Kane

Key Battles

After facing off just a week prior, it’s likely England will enter this game full of confidence after their 7-0 hammering at the weekend. As a result, all of their attacking options are in top form and could cause havoc for the Czechia defence. Anthony Gordon has had a standout international break, Harry Kane is prepped for a record-equalling 125th cap to become England’s joint-top appearance maker, Saka had a decent showing against Croatia and either Rogers or Bellingham in the no.10 role are simply top quality options to choose from.

With the centre-back pairing expected to be Branthwaite/Chalobah, it’s not a regular pairing we see with England, so this could give the opposition hope, however it’s likely they will be able to manage the threats from Czechia and Pickford will be eyeing another clean sheet as his place comes under threat from Trafford for the future.

Finally, Trent Alexander-Arnold is expected to start again at right-back, and after his terrific assist for Gordon in the reverse fixture, he will be keen to utilise his minutes to prove his quality and put himself back at the front of the selection for England in the future.

Prediction

After winning their last meeting a week prior 2-0, England went away to Croatia and battered their hosts 7-0 while Czechia were being beaten 3-1 by group leaders Spain. As a result, England are full of confidence and belief, while their opponents are winless in 3 games this break, and England at home should have far too much quality in their squad depth to put out a fresh and determined side, with Kane likely to be determined to perform on a record-equalling night of football at Wembley.

England 3-0 Czechia

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