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2018 World Cup Qualifiers: England Vs. Malta Prediction, Preview, Predicted Line-Ups, Betting Tips, Kick-Off Time, & Live Stream

By Pradeep Nepal
Published on: 15:44 PST, Oct 6, 2016

England looks to win the first game under interim manager Gareth Southgate in 2018 World Cup Qualifiers against European minnows Malta.

Date, Kick-Off Time, And Venue

The game will take place on October 8, 2016, at Wembley Stadium in London. The kick-off times for various time zones are provided below.

  • U.K. time: 5:00 p.m
  • U.S.A. time: 12:00 p.m.
  • Pacific time: 9:00 a.m.
  • Kenyan time: 7:00 p.m.
  • UAE time: 8:00 p.m.
  • Indian time: 9:30 p.m.
  • Malaysia time: 2:00 a.m.

England Squad

Here is the full squad of England to play 2018 World Cup Qualifiers against Malta.

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Torino), Fraser Forster (Southampton), Tom Heaton (Burnley)

Defenders:, Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Michael Keane (Burnley), Danny Rose (Tottenham), Chris Smalling (Man United), Kyle Walker (Tottenham), Ryan Bertrand (Southampton), Phil Jagielka (Everton), John Stones (Man City)

Midfielders: Eric Dier (Tottenham), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Jesse Lingard (Man United), Andros Townsend (Crystal Palace), Dele Alli (Spurs), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Michail Antonio (West Ham), Theo Walcott (Arsenal)

Forwards: Marcus Rashford (Man United), Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City), Wayne Rooney (Man United)

England vs Malta: Team News and Preview

Wayne Rooney will continue to retain his status as the captain in the side under Southgate. The forward is enduring a tough time in his career having been relegated to bench under Jose Mourinho in the last few games. However, Rooney, who is the all-time top scorer for England, will start for the Three Lions against Malta this Saturday, as confirmed by his manager.

Glen Johnson and Raheem Sterling were initially picked in the national squad. But due to their respective injuries, both players have withdrawn from the side. Michael Keane and Andros Townsend were called in the team to fill the void left by the injured duo.

Speaking in his first press conference as the England boss, Southgate told The FA, “We’ve tried to keep some continuity from last month because my view would be that there are a lot of things that have been going right.

“We’ve had a few people unavailable through injury like Harry Kane and Jack Butland, and we’ve lost a couple over the weekend in Danny Drinkwater, Adam Lallana and Nathaniel Clyne while Luke Shaw isn’t quite back fit yet. That’s had a bearing on the squad.

“There are obviously a couple of players that I’ve worked with in the Under-21s with Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard, who we think are exciting young players who we wanted to put in this squad.”

In other news, Jonathan Caruana and Luke Gambin of Malta both saw red card in their opening game against Scotland. Hence, they will miss out England game through suspension.

Starting Lineups

England Predicted Line-Up (4-2-3-1): Hart; Walker, Stones, Cahill, Rose; Henderson, Dier; Walcott, Rooney, Rashford; Sturridge

Malta Predicted Line-Up (3-5-1-1): Hogg; Baldacchino, Agius, Borg; Sciberras, Fenech, Camilleri, Scicluna, Mifsud; Schembri; Effiong

TV Schedule and Channel

In the U.K., the game will be live on ITV 1 UK, STV Scotland, and UTV,. In the U.S., the match will be broadcast on ESPN Deportes USA, WatchESPN, and ESPN3 USA. You can also watch the game at the live stream link provided at the end of this article.

England vs. Malta: Head-to-Head (H2H)

Malta has faced England two times before, and it has lost both of them.

England vs. Malta: Prediction

Gareth Southgate’s first game in charge could not be against any easier opponents in the group than Malta. England simply outweighs the quality of Malta.The visitor has not won any of their last 11 games, and it is not likely that Malta will break its duck vs. England. We expect the Three Lions to put a five-star performance against the minnows.

Final Predicted Score: England 5-1 Malta

England vs. Malta: Betting Tips and Odds

  • ENGLAND win: 1/40
  • A draw: 18/1
  • MALTA win: 66/1
  • Under 2.5 goals: 5/1
  • Over 2.5 goals: 1/9
  • Both teams to score: 3/1
  • Both teams fail to score: 1/5

(The odds were provided by Paddypower.)

England vs. Malta: Live Stream Online Free

The match can be watched live streaming online at the link here.

The link will be updated just before kick-off.

[Featured Image by Dan Mullan/Getty Images]

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