European Under 21 Championships: How England will line up
Under 21 European Championships
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Michael Cox /
09 June 2011 /
New Liverpool signing Jordan Henderson and Manchester United target Phil Jones are key players
"That makes England’s likely starting XI: Fielding, Mancienne, Smalling, Jones, Bertrand, Muamba, Rodwell, Henderson, Rose, Welbeck and Sturridge. Right-back Kyle Walker and midfielders Tom Cleverley and Mark Albrighton are other options."
There's no Andy Carroll or Jack Wilshere but the squad England have taken to Denmark is a strong one with plenty of well-known names to Premier League fans. But how will they line up and what's the game-plan? Michael Cox reveals all.
¬Much of the build-up to the European U21 Championship has centred on which players aren't in the squad. Jack Wilshere and Andy Carroll weren't named on the final 23-man roster, whilst Micah Richards and Kieran Gibbs will miss out through injury.
Those four players have all been capped at senior level, and their absence leaves England with a considerable lack of experience in the side - only Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck have appeared for the full England side, both in a friendly game.
Experience is not always expected at this level, of course, but when you consider that England's first opponents, Spain, will play with Javi Martinez and Juan Mata - two players who won World Cup winner's medals last summer - England start at a significant disadvantage.
Manchester United fans will look forward to seeing their probable future central defensive duo of Chris Smalling and Phil Jones play together at the back - they're likely to be joined by recent Hamburg signing Michael Mancienne and Chelsea left-back Ryan Bertrand in a strong-looking back four, with Frank Fielding in goal. Another option is to use Spurs' Danny Rose in the left-back position he's occasionally played at club level, although he prefers to play on the left wing.
The midfield will be anchored by Fabrice Muamba, with new Liverpool signing Jordan Henderson and Everton's Jack Rodwell as part of the midfield three. Rodwell could sit alongside Muamba and allow Henderson to create higher up the pitch, but in the recent 2-0 friendly win over Norway's U21 side, it was Rodwell who provided the most frequent support to the front two of Welbeck and Daniel Sturridge.
That makes England's likely starting XI: Fielding, Mancienne, Smalling, Jones, Bertrand, Muamba, Rodwell, Henderson, Rose, Welbeck and Sturridge. Right-back Kyle Walker and midfielders Tom Cleverley and Mark Albrighton are other options.
For the opening game against Spain, I'd expect relatively few goals, so would take under 2.5 at around [1.9]. The style of Spain's youth sides is identical to their senior side - lots of possession but sometimes a lack of penetration, and the ball tends to spend a lot of time in the centre of the pitch. The key player will be Mata, the most established footballer in the tournament by some distance, and deservedly being watched closely by Liverpool, according to newspaper reports.
Stuart Pearce could use a simple 4-4-2 system with Henderson and Rose on the wings, but it's more likely that Henderson will come inside and Welbeck will play wide, leaving Sturridge upfront to get the goals. And, after a great second half of the season on loan at Bolton, Sturridge could be a decent bet for the tournament's top scorer prize at [6.8] - he is second favourite behind Barcelona's Bojan Krkic [6.6]. Spain's Adrian Lopez is at [8.2] and the Czech Tomas Pekhart is at [8.6] - but it's worth noting that these players are all in Group B, which appears by far the toughest of the two groups. I'd be more tempted by Dane Nicki Bille Nielsen at around [12.0], in the hope that he'll grab plenty of goals in the group phase, in the easier group A. Icelandic forward Johann Gudmunsson is another to consider at [20.0].
The difference in quality between the groups also has significance in terms of the overall winner. The three favourites, Spain [3.05], England [5.6] and Czech Republic [7.0] are all in the same group, along with Ukraine - but at least one won't qualify. Therefore, it might be worth backing a Group A side, with the possibility of laying off when we get to the semi-finals.
England have reached that stage in the last two competitions, after nine previous failed attempts. A semi-final spot in 2007 and a runners-up place in 2009 indicate Pearce's side are moving towards something big, but avoiding an opening day defeat is the first target.
Recommended bet:
Under 2.5 goals in England v Spain at [1.9]
Nicki Billie Nielsen in Top Goalscorer market at [12.0].