Mason Mount is in line to make his England debut against Bulgaria on Saturday.
Jesse Lingard missed training on Friday as a result of illness with the Chelsea midfielder one of Gareth Southgate’s options in reserve.
Harry Winks could get an opportunity to start in midfield alongside Jordan Henderson, while Raheem Sterling will be looking to add to his superb return of four goals from England’s opening two qualifiers.
England XI: Pickford, Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Maguire, Chilwell, Henderson, Winks, Mount, Sterling, Kane, Rashford
Bulgaria XI: Iliev, S Popov, Nedyalkov, Bozhikov, Goranov, Milanov, Slavchev, Sarmov, Ivanov, Despodov, I Popov
Players will something to prove on Saturday
His place on the plane to Euro 2020 is guaranteed but Jadon Sancho’s form at Borussia Dortmund makes Marcus Rashford the most vulnerable member of England’s attacking triumvirate.
Harry Kane plays no matter what and Raheem Sterling has started his Manchester City season in stunning form but Rashford has scored two goals in his past 12 games for Manchester United, both of which came against Chelsea on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.
Rashford was also guilty of profligacy during the Nations League finals — his last international goal from open play was 11 months ago.
Mason Mount
The Chelsea midfielder has taken everything in his stride this season and looks set to be given an opportunity tomorrow to make his senior England debut.
Southgate seems settled on a 4-3-3 as his preferred post-World Cup system but the ideal component parts of midfield are uncertain.
He is excited by the prospect of different midfielders offering a variety of strengths because it allows him to tailor his line-up to specific opposition — and Mount has a chance to add his name to the list.
Southgate believes Mount “looks like he’s threatening the goal every game he plays”. Continue that for England and he’ll be hard to leave out.
Joe Gomez
The Liverpool defender has made seven senior appearances, which would surely have been many more had his early career not been blighted by serious injuries.
Now fully fit, the 22-year-old is still not a regular at his club, with Jurgen Klopp continuing to prefer Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip at the heart of his defence, even though Gomez began the season by starting against Manchester City, Norwich and Chelsea. Gomez can also play at right-back but England are very strong in that area.
That means he must take his opportunity in the centre tonight, alongside Harry Maguire, as he tries to establish himself.
