England vs Germany. International Match.
Wembley StadiumAttendance81,382.
Friday 10 November 2017 18:26, UK
Gareth Southgate will be forced to field an experimental England side when they play host to world champions Germany at Wembley on Friday (kick-off 8pm).
The England squad has been ravaged by injuries, with Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Jordan Henderson among the notable absentees.
Southgate is expected to hand Ruben Loftus-Cheek his senior debut, while Joe Gomez, Jack Cork and Tammy Abraham will also be hoping to claim their first England cap on Friday night.
England's friendly with Germany comes four days before they welcome Brazil to Wembley, and despite the injuries, Southgate is convinced the games will not be a waste of time.
"It's a brilliant test for us. For the players to be playing in front of a full house - twice - at Wembley against top teams, they're the games you live for," said Southgate.
"We are going to learn a hell of a lot and I have learnt an awful lot already this week. The squad I have picked is the best we have available. It's allowing me to work with players I might not have seen.
"This period between qualification and the finals has to be one of an element of experimentation. If we don't try things in these games, when are we going to learn about some of these guys for Russia?"
Southgate has a 22-man squad to choose from following a number of withdrawals, namely Raheem Sterling (back), Fabian Delph (calf), Kane (hamstring) Harry Winks (ankle) and Henderson (thigh).
Chelsea defender Gary Cahill missed training on Thursday and is a doubt to Friday's encounter.
Ashley Young could make his first England appearance since 2013, while Southgate has selected Jordan Pickford in goal after Jack Butland broke his finger in training.
Germany's Jerome Boateng has been ruled out of the friendly. The Bayern Munich defender has been nursing unspecified muscle problems.
Midfielder Toni Kroos remains a doubt after missing training on Wednesday with a stomach virus.
This is the 32nd meeting between these two countries, with both nations winning 13 games apiece (five draws).
Germany have scored in 13 of their last 14 international contests with England, only failing to score in their Euro 2000 match, losing 1-0 after an Alan Shearer strike.
Including the 1966 World Cup final, England have faced Germany at Wembley on 11 previous occasions (W4 D1 L6) - Germany have won the last three in a row, with the most recent meeting coming in November 2013, with Per Mertesacker scoring the only goal.
Since that loss, England have won 15 of their last 17 games at Wembley (D1 L1), with a current unbeaten run of seven (W6 D1).
I think England look pretty weak with the injuries and the players Gareth Southgate has called up as a result.
I watched Jack Cork at the weekend and he played pretty well. I was always amazed Southampton sold him and he's very efficient on the ball.
If I was picking the England team Marcus Rashford would play the number nine role rather than Jamie Vardy, who has been in okay form.
I am going for Germany to win because of the midfield situation, where they should dominate, while Leroy Sane is obviously in blistering form.
Charlie predicts: 1-3 and Sane to score first (80/1 with Sky Bet)
