Thomas Tuchel is using this time to try new combinations. The England manager has featured the two Aston Villa players, Morgan Rogers and Ezri Konsa, a lot since taking over. For Tuesday's match against Senegal, however, the German has elected to leave the Villans out of the starting XI.
Instead, Tuchel is going with a mix of players who would almost certainly play from the opening whistle during next year's World Cup and some newer faces in the lineup since his introduction in the role.
Dean Henderson gets the start in goal for the Three Lions. Kyle Walker, Trevoh Chalobah, Levi Colwill, and Myles Lewis-Skelly form the backline.
In midfield, Declan Rice and Conor Gallagher are likely to stay more in the central midfielder roles. Bukayo Saka and Anthony Gordon are playing in midfield roles on the outside. Then the captain, Harry Kane, is up top, coming off the lone goal effort during the win against Andorra. He will be joined by
Eberechi Eze in a 4-4-2 formation.
Considering this is a friendly at the City Ground, this picture provides a great opportunity for Tuchel to see how this lineup will work. It is a matchup that likely will be played more conventionally.
At least compared to the World Cup qualifier against Andorra, the side was forced to break down a more defensive shape for a lot of the match.
Good Aston Villa options on the bench for England
Still, if things remain knotted up at zero apiece for too long, Tuchel will have an excellent option in Rogers to turn to to potentially prove to be a difference maker on the pitch. For Konsa, barring cards being handed out or an injury, it appears that the defender will be able to take this shift off.
In either case, both Villa players will be more than ready to step in if Tuchel is not liking what he is seeing from the Three Lions players during the early going against Senegal.