Finland vs England: Preview, Predictions and Lineups

England suffered a heavy defeat against Greece in the UEFA Nations League on Thursday and will be aiming for redemption against Finland in Helsinki next Sunday.

Lee Carsley’s bid for a permanent place in the dugout suffered a significant setback when the 2004 European champions traveled to Wembley and an unorthodox lineup led to an inconsistent performance in the capital. A brace from Vangelis Pavlidis, including a 94th-minute winner, condemned the Three Lions to a dismal defeat.

A trip to Finland offers England the chance to get back on track in their Nations League campaign. They won their first two games, one against Finland at Wembley, but have now fallen behind Greece in the standings as they seek promotion back to League A in 2022/23 after surprise relegation.

Here is 90 minutes Guide to Finland vs England.

Finland vs England H2H record (last five games)

Current form (all competitions)

How to watch Finland vs England on TV and live stream

News about the England team

England face several absences ahead of Sunday’s game in the Finnish capital, with Bukayo Saka suffering a hamstring injury in the defeat to Greece. He will miss this weekend and may be joined by Harry Kane on the sidelines as the England captain missed the entirety of Thursday’s defeat.

Jack Grealish remains a doubt after missing the game against Greece due to a knock but could move to the bench, while Liverpool’s Curtis Jones has withdrawn from the squad for the game against Finland due to a personal commitment.

After playing without the orthodox number nine for most of the recent defeat, Ollie Watkins or Dominic Solanke will surely come into the starting XI for England. Declan Rice should also be supported by a more natural central midfielder in Finland.

Predicted England line-up against Finland (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Alexander Arnold, Stones, Guehi, Colwill; Bellingham, Rice; Madueke, Palmer, Foden; Watkins.

News about the Finnish team

Finland go into Sunday’s encounter in good health and are expected to welcome former Norwich City striker Teemu Pukki back into the starting lineup. Venezia’s Joel Pohjanpalo scored in his place in the recent 2-1 defeat to the Republic of Ireland but is likely to give up his starting place.

England will hope Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky will be kept busy on Sunday after struggling too often to test Greek Odysseas Vlachodimos.

Coach Markku Kanerva is unlikely to change much from the team that suffered a respectable 2-0 defeat to England at Wembley in September.

Predicted line-up for Finland against England

Predicted line-up for Finland against England (4-3-3): Hradecky; Stahl, Hoskonen, Ivanov, Galvez; Kamara, Schuller, Walta; Lod, Pukki, Antman.

Finland vs England result prediction

England’s defeat against Greece was a clear reality check for Carsley and his players after two comfortable wins at the start of the Nations League season. The Three Lions’ interim coach is likely to field a more traditional line-up in Helsinki than during the week.

Despite the deserved but surprising defeat, England should bounce back given their superior quality in Finland. Sunday’s opponents have lost all three games in the competition and blew a one-goal lead with defeat to the Republic of Ireland in their last game.

England’s performance may not be spectacular – that is rarely the case – but despite some significant failures they should return to winning ways with little fanfare.