Malta vs England: England are sitting comfortably at the top of the Group C table. They are coming from two wins against Italy and Ukraine in March. They will be looking to continue their winning run as they face bottom-placed Malta on Saturday. Malta are not having a good run, but they are coming back from a surprising win against Luxembourg. Hence, ruling them out before the start of the match will not be wise. However, England still have the odds in their favour.
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England started their EURO Qualifiers journey against the reigning champions Italy. They took revenge against Azzurris as they beat them by a 2-1 margin. The goals were scored by Declan Rice and Harry Kane. Kane broke the record that day to become England’s top goalscorer.
Italy scored one back, scored by Mateo Retegui in the 56th minute. However, they could not produce another and ended the match with a 2-1 scoreline. He increased his goal tally further as he scored another one against Ukraine three later.
However, Bukayo Saka was the focus of that match. He set up Kane for his 55th goal for England before scoring the second goal of the match. They will be approaching the match with determination to keep winning. They are sitting 3 points ahead of North Macedonia and Italy in Group D. The Three Lions will be extra motivated after getting knocked out of the World Cup and being relegated from the Nations League. However, their journey has started well on the way to redemption.
The records also seem to be in the Three Lions’ favour as they won all of their last 5 matches against Malta. They have also won 19 matches from their last 20 European Championship qualifying matches. Their only loss came in October, 2019 against the Czech Republic. Additionally, the last time they failed to score in a match at this stage was in 2010. On that occasion, a match between them and Montenegro ended in a goalless draw. They have also snuck 14 goals past Malta in their last 5 encounters.
England again have some pre-game withdrawals as both Lewis Dunk and Jude Bellingham pulled out of the squad. They will be joining the long list of absentees for the match. The list includes several important players’ names, like Ben Chilwell, Mason Mount, Raheem Sterling, Reece James, and Iven Toney who will be serving his suspension. The coach will be expecting some of Manchester City Champions League winners to arrive. The names include John Stones, Jack Grealish, Kyle Walker, Phil Foden, and Kalvin Phillips.
It will be a matter to see whether these players will be fully fit to start the match. Coach Southaget could give Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze a chance to make his debut for the senior English team. However, he could be introduced as a substitute, rather than a starter. Otherwise, Saka, Kane, and Rashford will take the lead in the final third. Whereas, Trippier, Guehi, Maguire, and Shaw will make the back four. Gallagher, Rice, and Henderson will hold the fort in the midfield, while Pickford is expected to take his place under the goalpost.
England Probable Starting XI: Pickford; Trippier, Guehi, Maguire, Shaw; Gallagher, Rice, Henderson; Saka, Kane, Rashford
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Editors pick
