England v Estonia preview: Wayne Rooney ruled out of Euro 2016 Qualifier

England host Estonia tonight knowing victory in their European Qualifier will guarantee them a spot as top seeds at Euro 2016.

Roy Hodgson's men have already secured top spot in Group E, confirming their place at next summer's tournament in France.

But the next target for England is to ensure they will be in pot one for the draw, helping them avoid some of Europe's big teams, and a win this evening or in their final game against Lithuania will make them one of the six top seeds.

They had to rely on a late Wayne Rooney free kick to earn victory in the reverse fixture 12 months ago, but Hodgson's side have gone on to be the only side remaining with a 100-per-cent record.

Ahead of Friday's encounter, Rooney is set to be awarded a golden boot by Sir Bobby Charlton, after he surpassed Charlton's record to become England's all-time top scorer with his 50th international goal in the win over Switzerland last month.

Team news

Rooney is out for the hosts after picking up an ankle knock in Manchester United's 3-0 defeat at Arsenal last Sunday, and the striker will also miss the clash with Lithuania.

Jonjo Shelvey resumed training after a knock at the weekend, but Danny Ings is also likely to miss out after also sitting out Thursday's session along with midfielder Michael Carrick, although the Manchester United man should be fit to feature.

Hodgson is already without John Stones after the Everton defender withdrew due to a knee injury.

Estonia have midfielder Aleksandr Dmitrijev available again after suspension, while defender Dmitri Kruglov is set to earn his 100th cap for his country.

Opta stats

England have won all three of their previous meetings with Estonia, scoring seven and conceding none.

Wayne Rooney has scored in his last seven competitive fixtures at Wembley Stadium for England, including his record-breaking penalty against Switzerland.

Harry Kane is averaging a goal every 57.3 minutes for England, with all three of his strikes coming from the substitutes' bench.

England are unbeaten in their last 13 fixtures (W10 D3), their best run since a 15-game streak between October 2005 and October 2006.

The Three Lions are also unbeaten in 18 competitive matches at Wembley (W15 D3). It's their best run since a run of 20 between 1984 and 1996.

Estonia have a shot conversion rate of 6.35 per cent in this campaign. Only four teams have lower (Greece, Moldova, San Marino and Gibraltar).

Estonia also have the second lowest shooting accuracy (30.16 per cent, ahead of Greece).

Charlie Nicholas' prediction

I think England will give a few trials to fringe players and there's a lot of players with the chances to push their names and, while the pressure is off for the team, there will still be a competitive edge from the players.

It's going to be a walk in the park and I can see them winning four or five nil as a lot of guys will be really hungry to make the most of their opportunity.

CHARLIE PREDICTS: England 4-0 Estonia (Sky Bet odds - 15/2)