England v Brazil Match Preview – International Friendly, 14 Nov 2017

England v Brazil Head to Head Record

• Brazil 2-2 England – 2nd Jun 2013, Friendly
• England 2-1 Brazil – 6th Feb 2013, Friendly
• Brazil 1-0 England – 14th Nov 2009, Friendly
• England 1-1 Brazil – 1st Jun 2007, Friendly
• Brazil 2-1 England – 21st Jun 2002, World Cup

England v Brazil Preview

Few fans would’ve been too excited by England’s lacklustre performances in the World Cup qualification stages. Gareth Southgate’s side found the back of the net just 18 times in 10 games on their way to topping Group F. The England boss did get the results when it mattered though and against Germany on Friday, he showed that his players can raise their game against the better nations. His youthful side, which was without several key names due to injuries, fought hard to secure a 0-0 draw against the reigning world champions. Another positive showing here would do the world of good to his side’s belief ahead of Russia.

Can they managed another draw or even a win against Brazil however? It’ll certainly be another big task for an inexperienced squad. The Brazilians have taken wonderfully to manager Tite who took over in June 2016. Since then they have lost just the one game and that one was a slender defeat to Argentina. In their very competitive CONMEBOL World Cup qualification group, his men stormed ahead at the top, scoring a hugely impressive 41 goals in the process. Brazil continued their scoring exploits in a friendly against Japan last week too, firing in three goals, Neymar and Gabriel Jesus getting themselves on the scoresheet.

What’s so dangerous about today’s Brazil side is that they have so many options who can score goals. No player managed more than seven goals during World Cup qualification but five of their squad racked up at least four. With plenty of youth and a system that works for them, the future is very bright for Brazilian football. The horrors of the 2014 World Cup are well and truly behind them and they’ll be looking to show what they are capable of here in front of a big Wembley crowd.

Relevant Stats, Injuries and Suspensions

For two teams who have both scored an abundance of goals over their history, meetings between them have produced very few. In the last 18 encounters, just the four have seen over two goals.

The chances of goals this time haven’t been helped by Harry Kane’s withdrawal from the Southgate’s squad. England’s top scorer during World Cup qualification joins two fellow teammates on the sidelines, another significant goal threat, Dele Alli and the deeper lying Harry Winks.

If Raheem Sterling was able to transfer his scintillating club for to the international stage, this would’ve softened the blow for Gareth Southgate but the Man City man is also unavailable. To complete the lengthy injury list, Phil Jones has had to pull out the squad after rolling his ankle in the Germany friendly.

As for Brazil, they will line-up at Wembley without 56-time capped David Luiz, although for tactical reasons not due to injury. With few injuries and a very talented pool of players to choose from, Brazil boss Tite was able to exclude several other big names from the squad too such as Oscar, Lucas Moura, Felipe Luis and Fabinho. The only very slight injury concerns surrounds Liverpool play-maker Phillipe Coutinho who didn’t feature in the recent friendly against Japan. The Liverpool man has declared himself fit however so it would be a big surprise to see him play no part in this game.

England v Brazil Tips

England’s makeshift side exceeded expectations against Germany and while you can believe they will battle tooth and nail again here, Brazil’s quality should eventually shine through. Southgate may well opt with a similar starting eleven with the one that featured against Germany but with Joe Gomez filling in for the injured Phil Jones. Although Germany failed to find their way past the Three Lions rearguard, the likes of Neymar, Gabriel Jesus and Coutinho will surely find a way through on their way to winning the game. A result you can back at 4/5 with Betfair.

It looks likely they’ll do it while maintaining a clean sheet too. With Harry Kane out, who is going to step up to the mark and score against what is a very impressive Brazilian defence? Jamie Vardy will carry a threat but it’s hard to see a nation who struggles for goals with a full strength side causing too many issues with so many absentees. At odds of 17/11 with Ladbrokes, backing the visitors for a clean sheet is too well-priced to ignore.