Slovakia v England preview: Jamie Vardy ready to fire England into last 16

England striker Jamie Vardy has lauded the squad's strength in depth ahead of their final group game against Slovakia on Monday.

Goals from Vardy and fellow substitute Daniel Sturridge in the 2-1 comeback win over Wales have put England top of Group B, while a win in their third match would secure Roy Hodgson's side first place and a spot in the knockout stages. 

A draw with Slovakia could also be enough to send England through to the last 16 as group winners - if Wales fail to beat Russia - but Vardy is targeting a win and believes England's strength in depth will be a major asset off the bench.

"If something's not working you're going to need to bring someone off the bench and everyone's willing to make an impact," Vardy said. "We have 23 players in the squad - it's a team game.

"Competition for places is good. And with the options we've got, we can use different systems as well."

Slovakia's 2-1 win over Russia has given Jan Kozak's side a chance of reaching the knockout stages. A win over England would send them through to the second round as automatic qualifiers, while a draw would be enough to seal a top-two spot if Wales lose to Russia.

Napoli midfielder Marek Hamsik was influential in the win over Russia, assisting the opening goal and scoring a fine second, and Slovakia centre-back Martin Skrtel says that the captain is an inspiration to the rest of the squad.

"He showed how important he is for our team and he showed his quality," Skrtel said. "Not only that he scored, but in all the 90 minutes he was working for the team. He did great and he is very important for us. We just hope and believe that he can carry on playing like this in the next game."

Team news

England's only injury concern is over third-choice goalkeeper Tom Heaton, who has a minor finger injury, while centre-back Gary Cahill is one booking away from a suspension. Roy Hodgson may have an effectively full-strength squad to choose from, but he is considering making changes after the impact of his substitutes in the win over Wales.

Forward Harry Kane and midfielder Dele Alli have both looked tired in England's opening games and could be dropped to the bench, with midfielder Raheem Sterling also under pressure after two sub-par performances. Vardy, Sturridge and Jack Wilshere are all pushing hard for inclusion.

Slovakia have no fresh injury concerns so are expected to be unchanged from the win over Russia, meaning that they will most likely start in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Hamsik, Vladimir Weiss and Robert Mak supporting Ondrej Duda.

Six Slovakia players are on yellow cards, including defender Skrtel.

Paul Merson's prediction

"Roy Hodgson has got to make some changes for this game. We are there for the long haul so he needs to use the 23-man squad. I would leave Kane out, not because he is a bad player, but because he looks tired. I want to see Vardy and Sturridge starting this game with Sterling also left out.

"We don't keep very many clean-sheets, so maybe you would stick with the same defence for continuity. I'm taking a bit of a risk by saying they will keep a clean-sheet in this game."

PAUL PREDICTS: 2-0 to England

Opta stats

England and Slovakia have met on three occasions previously, with England winning all three.

Seven of England's eight goals against Slovakia have been scored after the 60th minute.

England won 4-0 the last time these sides met in a friendly in 2009, with Wayne Rooney scoring a brace.

If Rooney plays, it will be his 20th game at a major tournament. Only Ashley Cole and Steven Gerrard have featured more times for England (22).

England's only previous game at Saint-Etienne's Geoffroy-Guichard stadium was a 4-3 penalty shootout loss to Argentina at the 1998 World Cup.

England have had 21 more shots than their opponents over their first two games at Euro 2016 but have only scored one more goal.

Slovakia have never kept a clean sheet in a major tournament (six games).

Betting

England are Sky Bet's 3/4 favourites for all three points while Slovakia are 17/4 to pull off a surprise victory, with the draw priced at 12/5.

There are six Price Boosts ahead of the clash including Rooney to score outside the area at 14/1 (was 10/1) and Vardy to score in an England win at 3/1 (was 9/4). Kane and Sturridge are joint 4/1 favourites to score the opener ahead of Vardy at 5/1 while Hamsik is among the best hopes for Slovakia at 9/1.