Montenegro vs England

MONTENEGRO M. Bozovic V. Bozovic, Basa, Savic, Volkov Zverotic, Novakovic, VukcevicKasalica, Vucinic, Jovetic

ENGLAND Hart Johnson, Smalling, Lescott, Cole Gerrard, Cleverley Milner, Rooney, YoungDefoe

Montenegro look set to retain the bulk of the team that saw off Moldova 1-0 on Friday, however, Mitar Novakovic could step in for the suspended Milorad Pekovic, who was dismissed against Moldova on Friday.

That absence only serves to heighten Montenegro's midfield-related woes as midfielders Nikola Drincic and Branko Boskovic have already been ruled out of tie with injuries.

Savo Pavicevic is also suspended having picked up a booking against Moldova, meaning that Vladimir Bozovic is likely to deputise at right-back with Simon Vukcevic coming into the midfield.

Various players rested for the 8-0 mauling of San Marino look likely to return, with Glen Johnson, Ashley Cole, Steven Gerrard and James Milner set to start at the expense of Kyle Walker, Leighton Baines, Frank Lampard and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Jermain Defoe, meanwhile, looks set to retain his place after bagging a double in the routine rout against the Sammarinese, with both Danny Welbeck and Daniel Sturridge likely to have to make do with a place on the bench.

Chris Smalling and Joleon Lescott are also expected to continue their partnership at the heart of defence in Montenegro after a quiet evening's work on Friday.

• Both of the previous encounters between Montenegro and England have ended in draws; the first a 0-0 draw at Wembley in October 2010, while the second, a year later, ended 2-2, with Wayne Rooney infamously dismissed for lashing out at Miodrag Dzudovic.

• Mirko Vucinic (pictured right) is his country's leading goalscorer since claiming independence in 2006 with 14 goals in 30 games.
• • The home side have also been in fine form defensively, having kept four consecutive clean sheets, though two of those were against San Marino, the others being 1-0 wins over Ukraine and Moldova.
  • England, meanwhile, have been in fine form offensively; they are currently the highest scorers in the European section of the 2014 World Cup Qualification Phase with 20 goals, 13 of which were scored against San Marino.
  • They have also had the most different scorers in Group H as nine separate players have netted for their home country over the course of the five games played thus far (Frank Lampard, Jermain Defoe, James Milner, Leighton Baines, Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ashley Young and Daniel Sturridge).
  • Though unlikely to start here, Welbeck has been in prolific international form; the Manchester United striker has had five shots on target for England - and scored all of them.