Gareth Southgate is set to hand Tyrone Mings his England debut for the Three Lions’ Euro 2020 qualifier against Bugaria.
England can qualify for the tournament next summer if they beat Bulgaria and Kosovo fail to take three points off Montenegro – having missed out on the chance to book their place on Friday following their defeat to Czech Republic.
The main problem behind the defeat to the Czech was seen to be a shaky defence, but Southgate is prepared to stick with his 4-3-3 formation rather than remedy the issue with three at the back.
Aston Villa centre back Mings will come in to partner Harry Maguire, while Trent Alexander-Arnold is expected displace Kieran Trippier at right back.
(Image: PA)
On the other flank, Leicester star Ben Chilwell could replace Danny Rose – who endured a tough evening in Prague.
In midfield, Jordan Henderson will keep his role but will be joined by Harry Winks, not Declan Rice, along with Ross Barkley.
Harry Kane will lead the line as usual, having dispatched his penalty with aplomb against the Czechs, with Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford providing attacking width.
(Image: REUTERS)
Southgate is confident that whoever he decides to pick will see his side bounce back in Sofia.
“We have a very honest group and are very self-reflective. They don’t need me to tell them when they haven’t played at the level they can.
“The key is always to recover from the result. We have to move forward and focus on tomorrow.
“I don’t think defeats harm teams if the reaction is good. Then what you learn from defeats and the resilience from defeats are important parts of a player’s career.
“I have always maintained that we have to qualify, and we haven’t secured that qualification yet and our focus tomorrow is to get the performance and result.”
England predicted XI: Pickford; Alexander-Arnold, Maguire, Mings, Chilwell; Winks, Henderson, Barkley; Rashford, Sterling, Kane
