England v Estonia preview

Rooney: Back in action

Related links

Teams

• England

Also see

• Score Centre
• Euro 2008 tables
• Bet on qualifiers

England face Estonia at Wembley on Saturday in Euro 2008 qualifying action and three points are a must for manager Steve McClaren.

The England boss will be desperate for a repeat performance to those which stylishly swept aside Israel and Russia back in September.

However, Estonia will not be in a generous mood and - in what will be one of the biggest games in the country's history - they will be keen to steal the show.

It has been suggested that England would be foolish to stray too far from the first XI which hit three past Israel and Russia respectively, but part of McClaren's hand has been forced upon him.

Injury

Emile Heskey (foot), so impressive on his return to the international scene, and captain John Terry (knee) are injured and the pair will both miss out.

Sol Campbell, who last played for his country against Sweden in World Cup 2006, is likely to earn his own recall in place of Terry.

Meanwhile, Wayne Rooney has recovered from a fractured metatarsal - the very injury which has felled Heskey - and is expected to take the Wigan striker's place alongside Michael Owen.

David Beckham remains sidelined and, with calamitous goalkeeper Paul Robinson receiving McClaren's unequivocal backing, the only selection headache exists in central midfield.

McClaren must decide between Gareth Barry, who more than showed his capabilities in the last international double-header, and the now fully fit Frank Lampard.

Problem

Lampard's goals from midfield have often handed England a get out of jail free card but his problems complementing Steven Gerrard contrast starkly with the way Barry dovetailed so effectively with the Liverpool skipper and there lies McClaren's conundrum.

Estonia have spoken of a desire to frustrate England and coach Viggo Jensen is likely to flood the midfield in order to stifle his opponents.

Star striker Andreas Oper has missed out on the trip to London as he is sidelined for two months with a hamstring problem.

Fellow forward Vlaimir Voskoboinikov is also missing through injury to leave Estonia looking a little shy of fire-power.

However, Watford goalkeeper Mart Poom - who has been struggling with a back injury - is in a determined mood ahead of the fixture and he has declared he is prepared to play through the pain barrier as his team-mates seek a dramatic upset.