Gareth Southgate is planning a bold change of system that is expected to see Michael Keane make his England debut against Germany on Wednesday as part of a new defensive formation featuring three centre-backs.
England trained on Wednesday to prepare for the game in Dortmund and Southgate experimented with a team that had Keane starting at the back alongside the captain, Gary Cahill, and Chris Smalling, with Kyle Walker and Ryan Bertrand operating as wing-backs.
Jake Livermore was another surprise inclusion in the starting XI and the central midfielder is in line to become the first West Bromwich Albion outfield player to start for England since Derek Statham featured against Wales in 1983.
Southgate has talked in the buildup to the match about the importance of being adaptable to new systems and the England manager, taking charge of his first game since signing a four-year contract in November, is a long-time admirer of Keane, having selected the Burnley player for England Under-21s.
Nonetheless, it represents a calculated gamble on Southgate’s part when his players have had only two training sessions to prepare for a possible 3-4-3 formation in the style of Antonio Conte’s Chelsea – a system rarely used by England managers.
Livermore is expected to play in a holding role alongside Eric Dier in a system that featured an attacking trio of Adam Lallana, Dele Alli and Jamie Vardy during the final training session before taking on the world champions.
