Albania vs England tips and predictions: Backing Tuchel’s Three Lions for the clean sweep?

Albania state of play

Despite having home advantage at the Arena Kombetare in Tirana, Albania are heavy underdogs heading into their final clash against Group K winners, England. 

After a 2-0 defeat in London in March, courtesy of goals from Myles Lewis-Skelly and Harry Kane, Albania will be looking to respond on home soil.

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However, their priority had been to seal their place in the playoffs - a goal they achieved after nearest challengers Serbia lost 2-0 at Wembley on Thursday night and Sylvinho’s side grabbed a vital 1-0 victory in Andorra.  

With their first-ever World Cup finals appearance nearly in the bag and March’s playoff journey on the horizon, the pressure is off The Red and Blacks heading into this one.

Albania are unbeaten in their last eight matches and have top scorer Rey Manaj and Burnley’s Armando Broja to call upon. 

Possessing some dangerous threats and with a buoyant home crowd behind them, Albania pulling off a famous win cannot be entirely dismissed.

England state of play

After a flawless qualifying campaign under Thomas Tuchel, England head to Albania with nothing at stake beyond preserving their unbeaten record in their final competitive match before next summer’s World Cup.

The Three Lions sealed their qualification by dismantling Latvia 5-0 in Riga. They then backed it up with a routine 2-0 win over Serbia on Thursday 

Remarkably, England have beaten every group opponent without conceding a goal, underscoring the defensive organisation Tuchel has instilled. 

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However, there have been a few bumps along the way, including in the unconvincing 1-0 win against Andorra in June. 

Overall, England have maintained their outstanding World Cup qualifying record under their new German manager, having not lost a qualifier since a 1-0 defeat to Ukraine back in October 2009.

With qualification wrapped up, England head to Albania unburdened. As such, their attacking players could exploit that freedom and enjoy playing with the shackles off. 

Key talking point: Tuchel to assess his options now pressure’s off? 

While Thomas Tuchel will want to continue England’s momentum, there’s likely to be some experimentation in Albania. 

Significant tactical changes are probably unlikely as he strives to maintain a cohesive unit, but some fringe players could be given more game time as the Champions League-winning boss continues to assess his options. 

With this last qualifier essentially being a dead rubber, it feels like the perfect occasion for Tuchel to use his deep squad and see how they fare alongside some more regular performers. 

Phil Foden is expected to get some minutes in the number 10 or false nine role after missing the past three England squads, while Jude Bellingham is back in contention to start following his absence in October and being left on the bench against Serbia. 

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Manchester City pair Nico O’Reilly and James Trafford, Chelsea’s Trevoh Chalobah, and Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton are also back in contention. 

Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott, who played a key role in England’s European Under-21 Championship triumph in the summer, has also received his first senior call up.

Whatever side Tuchel selects, there’s no reason why complacency should creep in and we don’t see another flurry of England goals once again. 

The Three Lions look primed to continue their scoring spree having now found the back of the net 17 times without reply in their past five games. 

FIRST.com’s top tip - Albania vs England  

While there are some notable absentees, England have won their last three matches against Albania and should complete their 100% qualifying record with a comfortable win in Tirana.

Pick: England to win and over 1.5 goals - 9/13 (7bet) 

Extra tips 

After recording yet another clean sheet against Serbia, backing England to end their qualifying campaign by beating every group opponent without conceding a goal is another tempting option here.

Pick: England to win to nil - 11/8 (Betfred)

The Three Lions scoring in both halves would have returned in four of their last five qualifiers.

Pick: England to score in both halves - 5/4 (Betfred)

After coming off the bench to score a lovely curling effort against Serbia, Eberechi Eze should start the game. I fancy the Arsenal man to grab his third goal in three games for England.

Pick: Eberechi Eze anytime scorer - 37/20 (10bet)

Team news

Albania head coach Sylvinho has few injury concerns to deal with, though Mallorca defender Marash Kumbulla has been ruled out. 

England will be without Newcastle pair Nick Pope and Anthony Gordon who are out with minor issues, while Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi has withdrawn with a foot injury.

From the last international break, all of Morgan Gibbs-White, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, and Ollie Watkins have been dropped. 

Albania vs England predicted line-ups

Albania: Strakosha; Mitaj, Djimsiti, Ajeti, Hysaj; Shehu, Asllani, Laci; Uzuni, Manaj, Bajrami (4-3-3)

England: Pickford; James, Burn, Konsa, Spence; Wharton, Rice; Eze, Bellingham, Saka; Kane (4-2-3-1)

Form guide (all competitions) 

Albania: LLWDDWWWWW

England: WWWWLWWWWW 

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Odds correct at the time of writing.