England predicted line-up vs. Greece: Newcastle United and Aston Villa stars earn starts as six changes made

England will be looking for revenge when they face Greece in the Nations League on Thursday evening – but Lee Carsley will be short on options, with no fewer than eight players withdrawing from the squad through injury.

Cole Palmer, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice are among the regular starters who didn’t make the trip to Athens, with Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers among four players called up as replacements to a squad who will hope to make up for the dismal defeat in the reverse fixture at Wembley.

Rogers is one of no fewer than six players hoping to make his debut for the Three Lions, along with Newcastle United full-back Lewis Hall, Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones and Southampton centre-half Taylor Harwood-Bellis, all of whom were included in Carsley’s original squad. Tino Livramento and James Trafford, who were called up on Tuesday, complete the list of uncapped players.

We’ve got all the latest team news ahead of Thursday’s crucial Nations League match below, along with our predicted line-up for Carsley’s penultimate match as interim head coach of England.

Goalkeeper & Defence

Aaron Ramsdale and Levi Colwill join Alexander-Arnold in staying at home while Jarrad Branthwaite, who had been a late call-up, has also headed back to England with an injury. With John Stones and Harry Maguire both unavailable for selection with ongoing fitness issues, Carsley’s options at the back are extremely limited.

Marc Guéhi, Ezri Konsa and Harwood-Bellis are the only recognised centre-backs left in the squad, and with England’s hopes of returning to the highest tier of the Nations League on the line it’s likely that the more experienced pair of Guéhi and Konsa start in front of Jordan Pickford.

Kyle Walker is expected to get the not at right-back, while Rico Lewis will compete with his namesake Hall on the left. Given England’s struggle to find balance down the left flank when using right-footed players down that side, it seems likely that Hall will get a chance to show what he can do, but whether that’s a substitute or a starter is unclear.

Midfield

The withdrawal of Rice means that Angel Gomes and Conor Gallagher could start together as a midfield double pivot, with Manchester City’s Lewis and Liverpool’s Curtis Jones also options – Carsley often started Lewis as a central midfielder during his time with the Under-21s.

With Cole Palmer, Jack Grealish and Phil Foden both out of contention, Jude Bellingham is almost certain to start in the number ten role ahead of the more defensive pairing. Rogers may get a chance to show what he can do off the bench, with although Morgan Gibbs-White may be ahead of him in the midfield pecking order.

Forwards

Jarrod Bowen was added to the squad following Saka’s withdrawal through injury, but Noni Madueke and Gibbs-White are likely ahead of the West Ham United winger in the queue to play on the right wing.

Anthony Gordon is expected to continue to play on the left flank with his competition for the role all staying in England, while there is growing speculation that Harry Kane will start on the bench, with either Ollie Watkins and Dominic Solanke getting the nod for the central striker role. Greece’s star striker Fotis Ioannidis, who was missing for the match in October thanks to an injury, is back in the hosts’ squad.

Pickford; Lewis, Guéhi, Konsa, Walker; Gomes, Gallagher, Bellingham; Gordon, Madueke, Solanke.