Football Previews
England v Scotland (7:45pm)
Alright so tonight England and Scotland face off in one of the most high profile games of international football played this week. The oldest rivalry in international football, made increasingly about the sideshow that is the poppy debacle, with the added bonus of speculation about Gareth Southgate's future, not to mention controversy in the England side selected.
I'll be honest. I don't think England have improved in the slightest since the Euros, and the fact that if we win tonight we'll be on ten points from four games means nothing, as it's the same cycle we go through, of winning meaningless games against below mediocre opposition, whilst playing badly, only to choke on the big stage. Scotland are just another below mediocre opposition, it's just that this game has added oomph because they're below mediocre opposition who happen to be our rivals. I don't think Southgate has brought anything to the table to his appointment, which isn't necessarily his fault, as he's had little time to work with the squad. Whether or not he actually has anything to bring to the table at all remains to be seen, but as he insists on naming Rooney as captain, and starting Jesse Lingard, I'm not hopeful.
All of that said, England should win. Scotland are in dreadful form, having limped to a draw with 98th ranked Lithuania and getting trounced away from home by Slovakia. Especially at Wembley, this has an England 2-0 win written all over it, probably with limp performances from both sides and a Rooney penalty because those never seem to go out of fashion.
In terms of team, I'd like to see a midfield three of Lallana, Henderson and Dier, but it looks like either Dier will start in the defence or Lallana will start wide to accommodate Rooney. At least Sturridge will play and with Lallana and Sterling supporting him, hopefully he will actually trust his team mates enough to not try to do everything on his own. I've defended Sturridge in the past and as I've said, good players who actually have faith in those that they're playing around don't tend to try to do everything themselves. I'm also glad that we're not trying to rush Harry Kane back into the side, as he is clearly not yet fully fit and hasn't picked up his form yet. Defensively, with Cahill having a good season at Chelsea it looks like Stones will partner him. I'm still not convinced by either of them, but we don't appear to have many options in that department. And in goal, I'd love to see Heaton get an international start, but no doubt the fact that Joe Hart hasn't yet been dropped by Torino means he'll play, no matter how well he's actually playing for Torino.
Overall, this is not the sort of fixture that can breath life into the desolate wasteland that is another international break, but hopefully England will still win and keep their stroll to the World Cup intact.
Northern Ireland v Azerbaijan (7:45pm)
Azerbaijan have upset the apple cart so far in Group C, but Northern Ireland will be hoping to upset it further, and Azerbaijan themselves in the process. Northern Ireland themselves are actually in really good form. Despite only having four points from three games, they've only lost to Germany, and picked up a good point away in the Czech Republic. Moreover, their form in Belfast is phenomenal, as they were unbeaten at Windsor Park in their Euros qualification campaign and have seven wins and two draws in their last nine home games.
But Azerbaijan are yet to concede in their qualification campaign so far, having beaten San Marino and Norway 1-0 and matching Norn Iron's 0-0 draw against the Czechs. Despite being ranked over 50 places below Northern Ireland in the world rankings, the Green and White Army cannot take three points for granted. Indeed, this could well be a tight, close game with neither team big goalscorers. Northern Ireland may feel that their best chances of scoring will come from set pieces, particuarly with Northern Ireland failing to score in six of their last eight games, although two of those games were against World Champions Germany, not to mention Poland, Wales etc.
Nevertheless, although 0-0 for this game would not be a bad bet, Northern Ireland will look at this game as a must-win if they want to claim the second spot in this group and make the play-offs, assuming that they have no hope of catching the Germans. But given the quality that they have at their disposal and how good their form has been in the last two years, there's no reason to think Northern Ireland can't win this game.
India Push Back
And meanwhile, in the cricket, England found bowling incredibly difficult on Day Three with a pitch showing absolutely no signs of life. Whilst Alistair Cook's men benefited from the conditions on the first two days of this Test, they found the going much harder on the third, as India moved to 319-4 by close of play, leaving the game increasingly looking as if it's going to end up being a draw. Indeed, a draw from here would always suit India having shipped over 500 runs in the first two days, against an England bowling line up that kept things incredibly tight and worked hard to prevent India running away with it.
But run away India's batsmen nevertheless did, with a sensational second wicket partnership between Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara, who both scored hundreds and put on over 200 runs before England chipped away late in the day. Pujara in particular was absolutely tremendous coming in at number three, scoring 124 off 206 deliveries and scoring seventeen boundaries. But Vijay alongside him was a brilliant anchor, taking 301 deliveries to reach his own score of 126, with just nine fours but also four sixes.
It was a long and painful day in the field for England, as India's second wicket pair plundered runs, taking advantage of the conditions to put on a stand similar to that of Moeen and Root on the first day, with similarly painful results for the opposition. And all this after Gautam Gambhir was removed early days by new England centurion Stuart Broad. Once again, England's seamers bowled well and kept it tight, but the spinners had no luck until the very end of the day.
But in terms of match position, England are still in the ascendancy. Although the match looks destined to be a draw, India will be well aware that they come back into bat tomorrow morning with plenty of work to do, as England struck late on to wrestle the game just about back into the balance. After Stokes removed Pujara, Virat Kohli came to the crease, and although Kohli will come back tomorrow 26* off 70, he will have to do the hard work again tomorrow morning, and moreover will have to do so with a new partner as Vijay fell in the penultimate over of the day to Rashid, before Ansari was able to remove the nightwatchman Mishra for a duck, Hameed taking two catches at short leg. Those breakthroughs mean that India remain 218 runs behind, and with Rahane fresh to the crease tomorrow morning, it's possible that England can cause India some problems if they can make inroads into the middle order early tomorrow with runs on the board, particularly if the pitch begins to deteriorate slightly overnight.
But overall, India will be very happy with their work on Day Three. Although the pitch favoured batting, it's still not an easy task to get down and play your cricket with 500+ runs on the board for the opposition and England bowled well, although having little to work with. For both teams now the task is simple. England need to come out tomorrow and take wickets, bowl well and keep chipping away. For Kohli, Rahane and Ashwin, it's to bat and bat and bat, to not lose their concentration or make any mistakes. Get to 400, get to 500, get past England's total, then see what happens. Primarily, their task has to still be defensive, to secure the draw, before they can think about trying to win the game. And on this pitch, a draw wouldn't be a bad result for either side. The Hard and Fast Section
- Coutinho is some player. Hands off Barcelona.
- Smalling's broken toe further humiliates Mourinho. Losing the plot.
- Hamilton starts fast in Brazil. Needs something special.
- Can England take down the Springboks tomorrow?
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