MX23RW : Monday, May 20 07:31:19| >> :120:31959:31959:

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Liverpool's Glen Johnson has also withdrawn, meaning that Manchester City full-back Micah Richards will fight it out with United's Chris Smalling for the right-back slot.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
CManchester CityMan City38287396346291
2Arsenal38285591296289
3Liverpool382410486414582
4Aston Villa382081076611568
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs382061274611366
6Chelsea381891177631463
7Newcastle UnitedNewcastle381861485622360
8Manchester UnitedMan Utd38186145758-160
9West Ham UnitedWest Ham381410146074-1452
10Crystal Palace381310155758-149
11Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton381212145562-748
12Bournemouth38139165467-1348
13Fulham38138175561-647
14Wolverhampton WanderersWolves38137185065-1546
15Everton38139164051-1140
16Brentford38109195665-939
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3899204967-1832
RLuton TownLuton3868245285-3326
RBurnley3859244178-3724
RSheffield UnitedSheff Utd38372835104-6916


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!