England are under pressure to produce a win before the World Cup, and Gareth Southgate must decide to stick or twist against Germany tonight.
If he sticks, he will likely persist with a back five, and trust his regulars to play their way back into form rather than rock the boat in the last game before heading to Qatar in November. If he twists, he could return England to a back four and make some changes to give some players a late chance to force their way into the starting XI vs Iran on November 21.
Whatever formation, two players likely to keep their places are Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden and Borussia Dortmund's Jude Bellingham.
Foden was a winger in the defeat to Italy on Friday, and did well enough to be hopeful of keeping his place vs Germany. His form for City means he should be a starter at the World Cup, most likely off the wing.
Against Italy, though, it was often Foden dropping deep to pick up the ball and drive it forward in search of a goal, sometimes playing more as a central midfielder rather than a winger. It's a position he's played more for England that for City, and one Pep Guaridola has so far been reluctant to use him too often.
Guardiola did say recently that Foden is finally ready to be considered as a midfield option, and that may be his future role for City as he gets older, following a similar journey as David Silva during his time at the Etihad. If he can get experience along the way for England, City will benefit.
And with Kalvin Phillips looking unlikely to be a starter at the World Cup, England may have to experiment with a new midfield set-up, possibly starting against Germany. It was Bellingham who replaced Phillips in Italy, starting alongside Declan Rice in a 3-4-3 formation. He showed promise, but maybe the formation didn't quite suit him, with more defensive responsibility than he may be ready for.
So if Guardiola wanted to experiment, he could return to a back four, put Rice as a sole holding midfielder, and have a more adventurous midfield duo of Foden and Bellingham infront of him. It may abandon some of the defensive solidity he prefers when he uses a back three of back five, but with no goal from open play in five games, he has to do something about England's creativity.
A report this week suggested Bellingham could be available for around £85m next summer, with plenty of Premier League clubs linked with his signing - City included. The decision-makers at City will be aware that Kevin De Bruyne won't be around forever, Ilkay Gundogan is out of contract in the summer, and Bernardo Silva continues to be open to an exit.
A midfield signing in the next year or two will surely be being looked at, and Bellingham would be one of the best midfielders on the market in that time. City fans wouldn't complain if their future midfield looked like Rodri sitting with Foden and Bellingham ahead of him.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com