Ukraine v England Tips: The Three Lions four in-form players to find our betting angles

• England back on track after World Cup misery

• Maddison and Saka set to impress

• Read Betfair's new 90 minute payout offer here

Gareth Southgate's England have done an excellent job in consigning December's World Cup exit to the past, subsequently winning all four of their Euro qualifiers to date.

A highly impressive victory in Naples and a comfortable bettering of Ukraine was followed by routine thumpings of Malta and North Macedonia, and though it's still too early for the counting of any chickens, a chance to experiment will likely come for Southgate with qualifiers to spare.

All of which means that a handful of in-form stars miss out for now, as the England boss keeps to his tried and trusted ways and tried and trusted players.

That's okay though, because from this familiar collective, these four in particular have started 2023/24 with a bang.

James Maddison

It's a three-sided coin-flip who starts on the left, with Maddison, Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden all in the reckoning but it's Tottenham's schemer who has the strongest claim of the trio.

A starter against Ukraine and Malta, the 26-year-old especially impressed in the former, looking bright and industrious throughout and pertinently in the comparison tables, Maddison tops his United and City counterparts in almost every department this season.

Indeed, four games in, he is the highest rated Premier League player on Whoscored.com with an 8.1 average.

With two goals, two assists, and 6.2 shot creating actions per 90, he has revitalised Spurs' attacking set-up and confidence-wise he is flying.

Bukayo Saka

A 13-minute hat-trick against North Macedonia back in June naturally grabbed the headlines but, given Saturdays opponents, it's worth remembering that the Arsenal winger also scored and assisted in the corresponding fixture last Spring.

The nature of Saka's assist that evening is worth noting too, with Ukraine stubborn to that point and hard to break down until the 22-year-old's devilish cross found Harry Kane, and in many ways Saka has become Raheem Sterling's successor in linking up consistently well with England's record goal-scorer and bringing the best out in him.

Better yet, he has started this term in blistering fashion, with three goal involvements in four and averaging 3.5 key passes per 90. Only Brighton's Pacal Gross can beat that.

Declan Rice

An outstanding and influential display at home to Manchester United, capped by a last-gasp winner, quietened the volume around Rice's transfer fee, but though this was undoubtedly a statement performance, it was also a continuation of the impact he's made from the off in North London.

The second most accurate short passes made by a midfielder in the top-flight illustrates how he's knitting everything together at the Emirates, at the heart of it all, while 2.0 successful tackles would be even higher if not for his sublime positional sense.

Intuitively, he knows where to be, what to do, and does it all with the minimum of fuss.

Which brings us to his inclusion here, and his elite shielding of England's back-line that has resulted in a remarkable stat so far for 2023.

In their four qualifiers to date, the Three Lions have conceded just one shot on target. Indeed, against Ukraine not only was Jordan Pickford not tested at all over 90 minutes but the Blue and Yellow were limited to a meagre three wayward attempts.

Jude Bellingham

Bellingham's meteoric rise to superstardom was astonishing enough before he moved to Spain. Since scoring five in four for Real Madrid, creating nine chances into the bargain, as well as winning possession on 14 occasions, we may need to invent more superlatives.

The most ball-recoveries of any England player in Qatar, along with a pass completion rate in the nineties was proof - if any proof were needed - of what a very special talent the Three Lions have been gifted with.

Every player has a ceiling. For Bellingham it resembles that of the Sistine Chapel.