STAR PREVIEW: England v Scotland

[dropcap]E[/dropcap]ngland look plenty short enough to beat Scotland tonight in the home nations World Cup Qualifier at Wembley.

144 years of history in the world’s oldest fixture but whether we are in for a classic is highly unlikely.

Both teams are a long way from their best and although England top Group F – Scotland get the chance to join them on seven points if they can win and anything other than a win for England could see them overtaken by Slovenia who are long odds-on to beat Malta.

Caretaker boss Gareth Southgate has announced the return of Wayne Rooney who will captain the side tonight having been dropped for the 0-0 draw in Slovenia last month.

Southgate said: “He’s in a better place than for the last get-together in terms of sharpness and confidence.

“He’s an experienced player for a game like this and there is no hesitation to be playing him.”

Southgate is likely to stay loyal to Daniel Sturridge despite the Liverpool striker not scoring in the Premier League this season.

Scotland’s manager Gordon Strachan said: “It’s important not to get caught up in the emotion of the match and to use your passion to run faster than you’ve ever run before, jump higher then you’ve ever jumped and concentrate harder than you ever have.

“If you get too emotional you can lose focus so we’ve got to use that emotion and passion to play better than we ever have before.

“The atmosphere could focus us but it might spook a few people too. Our focus has been tremendous and the squad are oblivious to anything else but this game of football,” added Strachan.

England v Scotland
FIFA World Cup 2018 Qualifier
19:45 ITV / ITV HD

HEAD TO HEAD RECORD
(Maximum 10 matches)
Nov 2014 INTERNATIONAL Scotland 1-3 England
Aug 2013 INTERNATIONAL England 3-2 Scotland
Nov 1999 EURO CHAMPIONSHIPS England 0-1 Scotland
Nov 1999 EURO CHAMPIONSHIPS Scotland 0-2 England
Jun 1996 EURO CHAMPIONSHIPS England 2-0 Scotland
May 1989 INTERNATIONAL Scotland 0-2 England
May 1988 INTERNATIONAL England 1-0 Scotland
May 1987 INTERNATIONAL Scotland 0-0 England
Apr 1986 INTERNATIONAL England 2-1 Scotland
May 1985 INTERNATIONAL Scotland 1-0 England

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