MX23RW : Thursday, November 14 03:40:26| >> :120:11411:11411:

Preview: England vs. The Netherlands

Stuart Pearce takes charge of England for the first time as they welcome the Netherlands to Wembley on Wednesday.

England begin life after Fabio Capello with a visit from World Cup 2010 finalists the Netherlands on Wednesday evening.

Interim boss Stuart Pearce has lost a number of players from his original squad listing, with Manchester United duo Wayne Rooney and Tom Cleverley unavailable; along with Aston Villa striker Darren Bent and Tottenham Hotspur defender Kyle Walker, who have all been stricken with injury.

Liverpool's Glen Johnson has also withdrawn, meaning that Manchester City full-back Micah Richards will fight it out with United's Chris Smalling for the right-back slot.

Danny Welbeck should start as the central striker, while City midfielder James Milner could start in midfield with Gareth Barry struggling with a back concern.

The Netherlands, meanwhile, are without Ajax defender Gregory van der Wiel, meaning that former Chelsea defender Jeffrey Bruma could start in defence.

Tottenham's Rafael van der Vaart withdrew from the squad this week, while Bayern Munich's Arjen Robben is also struggling with fitness.

The Dutch enter the match with two strikers very much in form - Klaas-Jan Huntelaar has struck 33 goals for Schalke 04 this season, while Arsenal's Robin Van Persie has 29 strikes to his name.

England's overall record reads won five, drawn nine and lost four of their encounters with the Netherlands.

Possible lineups:

England: Hart; Richards, Jones, Cahill, Cole; Gerrard, Parker, Milner; Walcott, Welbeck, Young

Holland: Stekelenburg; Bruma, Heitinga, Mathijsen, Emanuelson, Van Bommel, Strootman, Sneijder, Kuyt, Van Persie, Huntelaar

Sports Mole says: 1-1

ID:18180: cacheID:18180:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4049:

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Restore Data
Share this article now:
Harry Redknapp
Read Next:
No approach made for new England manager
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool119112161528
2Manchester CityMan City117222213923
3Chelsea115422113819
4Arsenal115421812619
5Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest115421510519
6Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton115421915419
7Fulham115331613318
8Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115331311218
9Aston Villa115331717018
10Tottenham HotspurSpurs1151523131016
11Brentford115152222016
12Bournemouth114341515015
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd114341212015
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Leicester CityLeicester112451421-710
16Everton112451017-710
17Ipswich TownIpswich111551222-108
18Crystal Palace11146815-77
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves111371627-116
20Southampton11119721-144


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!