England vs Ukraine: team news, is Maddison starting and what’s been said ahead of Euro 2024 qualifier

Gareth Southgate’s England are returning to Wembley Stadium to take on Ukraine in a repeat of the Euro 2020 quarter-final.

England began their Euro 2024 qualification campaign by beating reigning European champions Italy 2-1 in their first away victory against the Italians since 1961. The victory saw Harry Kane become the country’s all-time leading goalscorer with 54 goals - surpassing the record previously set by Wayne Rooney in 2016.

Southgate’s men are aiming to continue that strong start against Ukraine in their next game but who is likely to feature in the starting lineup for the Three Lions and what has been said ahead of the upcoming qualifier?

Here is everything you need to know.

England team news

James Maddison has been selected for his first ever England start against Ukraine.

The Leicester midfielder has made just one appearance for the Three Lions in all competitions which came against Montenegro in a 7-0 win back in 2019.

The 26-year-old has been selected to replace Jack Grealish in the starting line up and he is appearing in a front three alongside Arsenal star Bukayo Saka and all-time record goalscorer Harry Kane.

England have made a total of three changes from the team that beat Italy. Jordan Henderson has replaced Kalvin Phillips in the centre of midfield and Ben Chilwell comes in for Luke Shaw who was sent off during the victory over Italy.

In-form Brentford striker Ivan Toney starts on the bench for the Three Lions. The 27-year-old is hoping to make his international debut at some point in the game. He has scored a total of 16 Premier League goals in 25 appearances for Brentford this campaign.

Here is the full starting line up for England

• Jordan Pickford

• Kyle Walker

• John Stones

• Harry Maguire

• Ben Chilwell

• Declan Rice

• Jordan Henderson

• Jude Bellingham

• James Maddison

• Bukayo Saka

• Harry Kane

Substitutes: Aaron Ramsdale, Fraser Forster, Kieran Trippier, Eric Dier, Marc Guehi, Jack Grealish, Kalvin Phillips, Conor Gallagher, Ivan Toney

Ukraine team news

Ukraine kick off their Euro qualification campaign with their first competitive game since September when they drew 0-0 in the Nations League with Scotland.

Ruslan Rotan is taking charge of his first competitive fixture as Ukraine manager after arriving on an interim basis in February.

Rotan has handed starts to Premier League trio Mykhailo Mudryk, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Vitlali Mykolenko.

Here is the full team for Ukraine

• Antoliy Trubin

• Vitali Mykolenko

• Mykola Matvienko

• Oleksandr Svatok

• Oleksandr Karavaev

• Taras Stepanenko

• Oleksandr Zinchenko

• Heorhiy Sudakov

• Mykhailo Mudryk

• Ruslan Malinovskyi

• Roman Yaremcuk

• Substitutes: Lunin, Shevchenko, Sobol, Sarapiy, Sydorchuk, Konaplyanka, Dovbyk, Miroshynchenko, Buyaskyi, Tsgygankov, Bondarenko, Pikhalonok

What’s been said

Gareth Southgate has spoken about the difficulty of opponents Ukraine and claims his side need to be at their best to claim another victory.

Southgate said: “They are a very proud group of players, you can see that they are totally committed to bringing entertainment to their public.

“We of course have huge sympathy with what is going on, (Sunday) is a game of football and we are fully focused on the game.”

Prediction

England began their qualification campaign with a crucial victory over reigning European champions Italy and they are expected to carry that on with bookmakers at SkyBet placing England at 2/9 odds to win the match compared to a much higher 11/1 for Ukraine.

Prediction: England 3-0 Ukraine