England’s Nations League campaign continues on Thursday night as they aim to take top spot in Group 2 of League B off upcoming opponents Greece.
The Three Lions made an excellent start without manager Gareth Southgate as interim boss Lee Carsley led them to two 2-0 victories over the Republic of Ireland and Finland. However, they sit second behind the Greeks with a worse goal difference.
Ivan Jovanovic’s side have also won both of their games, chalking up five goals without conceding any, and a couple of familiar Premier League faces will be on view at Wembley Stadium.
Here’s 90min’s preview of the clash on Thursday.
England vs Greece H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Current form (all competitions)
How to watch England vs Greece on TV and live stream
England team news
Interim boss Carsley has had to deal with a few dropouts, with Ezri Konsa, Kobbie Mainoo and Morgan Gibbs-White all now unavailable due to injuries. To cover those absences, Curtis Jones and Tino Livramento have been added to the squad.
Striker and captain Harry Kane has been training on his own and should be given the night off with both Ollie Watkins and Dominic Solanke ready and waiting in the wings.
Recently voted player of the year Cole Palmer may get the chance to play in the number 10 role, with Bukayo Saka and Anthony Gordon featuring out wide.
England predicted lineup vs Greece (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Alexander-Arnold, Stones, Guehi, Colwill; Rice, Bellingham; Saka, Palmer, Gordon; Watkins.
Greece team news
Fotis Ioannidis is Greece’s regular starting striker and scored three goals in the two games against the Republic of Ireland and Finland but he’s not expected to feature against England due to an adductor injury.
In his absence, Vangelis Pavlidis, who has scored two Primeira Liga goals for Benfica so far this season, should be given the sole forward spot up front.
Greece predicted lineup vs England
Greece predicted lineup vs England (4-2-3-1): Vlachodimos; Rota, Mavropanos, Koulierakis, Tsimikas; Siopis, Bouchalakis; Pelkas, Bakasetas, Tzolis; Pavlidis.
England vs Greece score prediction
England’s path back to League A has started strongly enough, with Carsley making a decent impression during his first two outings. The recent Nations League relegation means the standard of opposition isn’t as high as it was previously, but they’ll still be faced with a disciplined outfit in Greece.
The surprise Euro 2004 winners have kept three clean sheets in a row and clearly have enough knowhow to keep opposition attacks at bay, but facing the likes of Saka and Palmer is a clear step up from Maltese forwards.
It should be a relatively straightforward night’s work for England, though the scoreline could be modest.
