Young Lions weakened by senior call-ups

International friendly
7pm Friday

Aidy Boothroyd begins his reign as permanent manager of England Under-21s against Germany in Wiesbaden and he will do well to avoid a morale-sapping defeat.

Any Young Lions manager understands the importance of having the best players available and Boothroyd’s hand has been weakened by the losses of Southampton pair James Ward-Prowse and Nathan Redmond, who have both been promoted to the senior team.

The England squad features just four players with ten or more caps and looks heavily reliant for goals on Chelsea forward Tammy Abraham, who has netted 19 times in the Sky Bet Championship during his loan spell at Bristol City.

However, Abraham may struggle to make much of an impact against the Germans, who cruised through their European Championship qualification group, winning all of their ten matches.

Some stars of that campaign have moved on to the seniors – notably Leroy Sane – but highly-rated midfielders Max Meyer and Maximilian Arnold remain and can help the Germans to victory.

Recommendation
Germany U21
1pt 10-11 general