Latvia vs England tips and predictions: Kane to lead Tuchel's team to World Cup in style

Latvia state of play

Latvia failed to beat Andorra on home soil at the weekend to continue their miserable form. 

Goals from Dmitrijs Zelenkovs and Vladislavs Gutkovskis had the Baltic nation on the brink of their first win since March before Ian Olivera struck late to earn the visitors their first point of the campaign. 

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A return of five points from six games means Latvia, who sit fourth of five in Group K, won't be heading to North America next summer.

Coach Paolo Nicolato will want his team to put on a show and make life difficult for one of the 2026 World Cup favourites England, however. 

England state of play

England warmed up for their trip to Latvia by breezing past neighbours Wales, who face Belgium in their own qualifier, in a Wembley friendly last Thursday.

Goals from Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins and Bukayo Saka saw the Three Lions race into a three-goal lead by the 20-minute mark before professionally managing the rest of the match. 

It continued the feel-good mood generated by last month's hammering of Serbia, although Thomas Tuchel was less-than-impressed by the atmosphere at Wembley. 

Tuchel's team are five from five in qualification and can guarantee their place at the World Cup by claiming all three points in Riga. 

Key talking point: Can England impress again? 

England are finding their groove under Tuchel and will look to qualify in style. 

The Three Lions have added flair to their rock-solid defence and scoring eight times in their last two games suggests they are firing on all cylinders. 

While it might seem surprising that things have suddenly clicked in the final third, England's underlying numbers are encouraging and they are underperforming compared to their expected goals figure in qualification.

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Tuchel's team have struggled to run up the goals against significantly-weaker opponents yet they managed to score three times without reply when the teams met at Wembley earlier this year.

Latvia might try and shut up shop, but their defence cannot be trusted after conceding twice to Andorra, who had failed to net in their previous eight matches. 

England captain Harry Kane will surely fancy his chances of continuing his red-hot start to the season. 

FIRST’s top tip for Latvia vs England

Pick: England handicap -2 - 8/13 (Betfred)

England won by five and three goal margins in their last two games respectively and the selection landed in March's match at Wembley. 

Extra tips

Pick: England to win to nil - 4/11 (Betfred)

England haven't conceded in seven competitive games and Latvia could only muster an xG of 0.29 at Wembley stadium. The hosts have also failed to score in more than half of their matches in this calendar year. 

Pick: Harry Kane to score two or more goals - 21/10 (Betfred)

England's record scorer has hit 18 goals in 10 appearances at club level and bagged a brace or more on seven occasions this season. 

Team news

Tuchel is "convinced" Kane will be fit to feature after sitting out the Wales win and he's likely to replace Ollie Watkins in attack. 

Marcus Rashford could take Anthony Gordon's spot out wide in England's other potential change. 

Janis Ikaunieks hopes to step into Latvia's XI after replacing attacker Dario Sits at half-time against Andorra. 

Latvia vs England predicted line-ups

Latvia: Zviedris; Savalnieks, Balodis, Cernomordijs, Jurkovskis, Ciganiks; Zelenkovs, Varslavans, Saveljevs; Ikaunieks; Gutkovskis (5-3-1-1)

England: Pickford; Konsa, Guehi, Stones, Spence; Anderson, Rice; Saka, Rogers, Rashford; Kane (4-2-3-1)

Form guide (including friendlies)

Latvia: DLLWLDDLLD

England: WWWWWWLWWW

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Odds correct at the time of writing.