Sports Blog 10/11/2017: International Friendly Preview – England vs Germany, Friday 10th November 2017

Friday night’s Wembley battle between England and Germany – at 8pm on ITV – is hardly shaping up to be a classic.

You have to feel for Gareth Southgate. He is going into Friday’s game – a repeat of the first fixture he lost as England manager – missing Harry Winks, Danny Drinkwater, Fabian Delph, Jordan Henderson, Dele Alli, Raheem Sterling AND Harry Kane. Those last three will hurt the most, given that the trio have 30 goals between them for Tottenham and Man City this season.



All this means there are 5 uncapped players in the squad: Jordan Pickford, Joe Gomez, Jack Cork, Tammy Abraham (who has a Super Mega PGM of 16-20) and Rufus Loftus-Cheek, the latter of whom will start this evening. As for up front, an out of form Jamie Vardy, at a Super Mega PGM of 20-24, will likely pair with Marcus Rashford, at 18-22.

Germany have then own injury issues; Manuel Neuer, Jerome Boateng and Thomas Muller are all out, while Toni Kroos is a potential doubt due to a stomach bug. Yet, these absences aren’t likely to give Joachim Loew the same kind of headache Southgate has had. The German manager has a far deeper well of talent to draw from, including RB Leipzig’s Timo Werner (at a Super Mega PGM of 33-39), PSG’s Julian Draxler and Man City’s impressive Leroy Sane (both at 18-22).

England could really do with a win on Friday night. They’re coming off yet another unbeaten, but unconvincing, qualifying campaign, with an easy group helping to mask a distinct lack of ambition and drive. While victory over the world champions wouldn’t suddenly make Southgate’s side favourites heading into Russia next year, it would at least suggest the country can hang with the big boys.

Last time the two sides met England were unlucky to lose, the only difference being a long-range wonder goal from Lucas Podolski in his final ever international appearance. This time out, however, inexperience may be a problem, meaning it’s not really a surprise that the visitors sit at a Germany/England (h) Goal Supremacy spread of 0.45-0.65 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.5-2.7.