Prediction: England vs Lithuania

England will be looking to further cement the first place in Group E when they host minnows Lithuania and at the same time keep their 100 per cent record intact. Their opponents are still in contention for top 3 places, but they have now failed to score in three successive fixtures, and will struggle to match their more illustrious opponents.

England suffered another embarrassing exit from a major tournament as they crashed out from the 2014 World Cup in the group stage after taking just one point from three matches. Roy Hodgson, nonetheless, received a vote of confidence and he did well to repay the trust, leading his side to an impressive start to the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign. The away win over very good Switzerland side was only a sing of things to come as the Three Lions hammered San Marino before enjoying hard-fought wins over Estonia and Slovenia to make it four out of four. England extended the bright run by defeating arch rivals Scotland in an international friendly at Celtic Park, so no doubt they go into the Lithuania clash brimming with confidence. The fans have plenty of reason for optimism at the moment as Spurs hotshot Harry Kane has been handed his first call-up, while Michael Carrick returns to the side following some impressive displays for Manchester United. And even with the likes of Sturridge, Rose, Forster, Shaw and Lallana missing, the hosts should have no problems against weak Lithuania, while they can also be trusted to keep a clean sheet, having only conceded one goal so far in the qualifying campaign.

Lithuania took part in their first qualifying campaign ahead of the 1994 World Cup, and they have yet to make it to a major tournament. The national team had several high-quality players few years back who mostly represented Russia’s top clubs, but they are no longer part of the team and there have been very little fresh talent coming through the ranks. As a result, Lithuania have suffered a serious downtrend in fortunes over the last couple of years, and the fact they are currently tied on points with Switzerland and Slovenia in Group E is entirely misleading. Namely, the Eastern European side only recorded 2-0 and 1-0 wins over San Marino and Estonia respectively, while they lost at home to Slovenia (0-2) and were hammered 4-0 in Switzerland. This is enough to suggest they are nowhere near good enough to match the best sides in the group. Lithuania are especially disappointing up front, which is the reason why they tend to adopt an ultra defensive approach when facing Europe’s top sides and having failed to score in their last three fixtures, I cannot see how they are going to fare any better at Wembley. The visitors will also be without Arvydas Novikovas and Lukas Spalvis.

Conclusion

England have been in scintillating form ever since the 2014 World Cup ended and while the Three Lions are scoring goals with relative ease, they are also looking strong at the back. Meanwhile, Lithuania were utterly disappointing against Slovenia and Switzerland, so another heavy defeat appears on the cards.

Verdict: England to win to nil

Best Odds: 4/9

Bookmaker: bet365