England and Albania will lock horns in the 2022 World Cup qualifying Group I matchday 9 at Wembley on Friday. The kick-off is at 21:45 CEST.

Preview

With just two games left in their 2022 WC qualifying run, England are yet to secure an automatic qualification for the Qatari tournament. As Gareth Southgate's men destroyed Andorra 5-0 before sharing points with Hungary (1-1) in October, the Three Lions are at the very top of the Group I table with 20 points.

Albania, meanwhile, haven't given up hopes on qualifying for next year's World Cup as Edoardo Reja's side sit in third, five points adrift of their forthcoming opponents and just two points behind second-placed Poland. Unlike England, the Red and Blacks managed a narrow victory over Hungary last month but will travel to London on the back of a 1-0 loss to Poland in their most recent fixture on October 12.

Team news

Luke Shaw, Declan Rice, James Ward-Prowse, Mason Mount and Marcus Rashford are all unavailable for the hosts due to injury while Berat Djimsiti and Rey Manaj will not help the visitors on Friday for the same reason.

Prediction

As the Three Lions face San Marino in the following game, even a draw against the Albanians will arguably be enough for Southgate's crop to qualify for the 2022 WC as the Group I winners. Thus, we can't envisage an entertaining encounter between the two on Friday, especially with England missing some of their key players. Let's say, that Southgate's men are more than likely to claim a rather narrow win against Reja's side - something they did in their previous head-to-head meeting in March when goals from Harry Kane and Mason Mount secured a 2-0 victory for their national team in Tirana.

Tip

England to win and total under 3.5 at 1.78 with 1XBET.