HOSTS TOUGH TO BEAT IN THE SUBBUTEO STADIUM!

I DON’T expect this to be easy for England. There wasn’t a lot between the sides when England won 3-2 there in 2015 with two Jack Wilshere (right) wonder goals, and Slovenia will be in high spirits after beating Slovakia 1-0 on Saturday. We know how difficult scoring against Slovakia can be! The Stozice Stadium is very compact, too — it’s like a Subbuteo stadium — so the home crowd should play a big role.

ONE thing that should work in England’s favour will be the absence of two of Slovenia’s best players in recent years. Goalkeeper Samir Handanovic was one of the best in the world — and particularly effective against penalties — but the Inter Milan stalwart retired from international duty late last year. Attacking midfielder Kevin Kampl — now of Bayer Leverkusen having moved from Borussia Dortmund in 2015 — is technically gifted, but has pulled out of tonight’s game due to fatigue.

GARETH SOUTHGATE has spoken a lot about getting his players to express themselves more, and this situation might just be the environment to get them playing with more freedom. This is a young team with a young manager — it’s like a new beginning and there will be a sense that they’re all in it together. Hopefully this will take some of the pressure away and result in an exciting performance.

I’D like to see Daniel Sturridge get beyond the backline more often. He does his best work with balls into feet but he needs to provide our flying full backs with more of an option in behind if he is to develop into a proper No 9 for England.