Tottenham striker Harry Kane will be rested for tonight's UEFA Nations League semi-final against the Netherlands, with Marcus Rashford predicted to lead the line alongside 19-year-old Borussia Dortmund wide man Jadon Sancho and Manchester City's Raheem Sterling in a dynamic front-three.
Kane returned to the fold for Spurs in their disappointing 2-0 defeat to Liverpool in the final of the Champions League on Saturday, but looked a shadow of his former self in Madrid and failed to make an impact. He will not feature from the outset this evening, instead handing the leading striker role to 21-year-old Marcus Rashford.
Despite Raheem Sterling revealing that no decision regarding the captaincy tonight had been confirmed by manager Gareth Southgate, the Manchester City winger is set to wear the armband in Kane's absence at the Estádio D. Afonso Henriques in Guimarães.
For Sancho, this will be just his fourth appearance for the senior England squad and he will be desperately keen to impress manager Southgate ahead of next summer's European Championships. The exciting young wide man has been in scintillating form during Borussia Dortmund's assault on the Bundesliga league title this term, scoring 12 goals whilst assisting a further 17.
Elsewhere, West Ham midfielder Declan Rice is predicted to line-up alongside Ross Barkley and Fabian Delph in midfield, as both Jordan Henderson and Eric Dier are set to be rested following their appearances in the Champions League final on Saturday. Right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold will also be rested, with Kyle Walker lining up alongside John Stones, Harry Maguire and Ben Chilwell in a back-four.
For Netherlands, their young side possess huge quality throughout, including 19-year-old centre-back Matthijs de Ligt, Barcelona-bound Frenkie de Jong, Donny van de Beek and Memphis Depay. Premier League Player of the Year and Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk will also start this evening, less than a week on from winning the Champions League with Liverpool. It's being reported that coach Ronald Koeman is set to rest Georginio Wijnaldum, instead opting to start Marten de Roon in central midfield, though we feel as though that may be unlikely.
Tonight's match should be a hugely entertaining spectacle, with two sides both favouring attack-minded 4-3-3 formations. Both have ridiculous pace to utilise in the wide areas, with England's right hand side offering plenty of promise against former Manchester United defender Daley Blind, who has spent the majority of the domestic campaign playing at centre-back as opposed to left-back, where he will likely start this evening.
If the Three Lions play to their strengths and maximise the potential of Sterling, Chilwell, Sancho and Walker on both flanks, there is every chance of victory for Southgate's men in Portugal. The true test will come through the middle, with arguably the strongest centre-half pairing of Van Dijk and De Ligt to contend with in the heart of the Netherlands back-line.
