Bulgaria vs England Preview

England national soccer team coach, Italian Fabio Capello (C), speaks with his players during a training session of England national soccer team in Sofia, Bulgaria on 01 September 2011.

from Sky Sports

by Chris Burton

England go to Bulgaria in the knowledge that they have little margin for error on the road to the 2012 European Championship.

The Three Lions sit top of Group G heading into a crunch clash in Sofia, but are level on points with Montenegro and face a scrap to secure automatic qualification.

A 4-0 victory over the Bulgarians in the reverse fixture at Wembley suggests Fabio Capello's men should have nothing to fear, but they cannot afford to take anything for granted.

They were expected to see off Switzerland in their last outing, but a 2-2 draw saw them hauled in at the summit.

Capello's men have not been in action since that stalemate, with a friendly date against Holland scheduled for early August called off as a result of the riots in London.

There may be a few cobwebs to blow off, but England will be looking to put on a show against Bulgaria and prove that they are deserving of their standing as the fourth best side in the world in the eyes of Fifa.

Now is the time to start building momentum, as the final countdown to next summer's Championship begins.

England have just two competitive games left after their meeting with Bulgaria, with Wales to come on Tuesday and a potentially pivotal clash in Montenegro set to bring the curtain down on their qualification campaign in October.

Capello will be starting to piece together his plans for a crack at continental glory and will be pleased to have a number of in-form players at his disposal.

He has also leant heavily on Manchester United's latest crop of talented youngsters, with the Red Devils providing five members of the senior fold.

The one concern for the Three Lions at present is their lack of cover between the sticks, with Joe Hart the only capped goalkeeper in the 25-man squad.

Bent concern

Darren Bent is a major doubt after missing training on Thursday.

Bent had missed the previous two days' sessions with a groin problem and he again failed to participate in the final session 24 hours before the game.

The Aston Villa striker is looking to establish himself as a regular member of Capello's attack after a spell of three goals in three matches.

But his possible absence could open the door for Jermain Defoe, who scored a hat-trick against Bulgaria at Wembley a year ago.

Another option for Capello would be to play Ashley Young behind Wayne Rooney - a role he has performed at club level with Manchester United.

Bent was the only absentee from training as England finalised their preparations for two crucial games.

Capello, therefore, has plenty of options to consider and he has hinted that Chris Smalling will edge out Micah Richards and Phil Jagielka at right-back.

Tom Cleverley could make his senior debut at some stage, but is not expected to be handed a starting role in midfield, while his Old Trafford colleague Phil Jones will also be hoping to earn his first cap.

Bulgaria have included Aston Villa's Stiliyan Petrov and Bolton's Martin Petrov in their squad, but boss Lothar Matthaus has been unable to tempt Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov out of international retirement.

Possible starting XI: Hart, Smalling, Terry, Cahill, Cole, Lampard, Barry, Parker, Young, Carroll, Rooney.

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