England Under-21s head into their European Championship qualifier with Kosovo Under-21s having already secured their spot in next year's Finals.

While the hosts have been eliminated from the competition, they are motivated to try to secure third position in Group C.

Match preview

Although there have been times during this qualification campaign where England Under-21s have looked far from their best, the Young Lions' superior quality have still ultimately proved decisive in this group.

Posting seven wins from eight fixtures - two of those coming against direct rivals Czech Republic - has ensured that Lee Carsley's side have booked their place in the main stages with two games to spare.

As it stands, Czech Republic sit three points adrift with one fixture left, but they would lose out via the head-to-head method should the teams surprisingly finish level on points.

England's latest success came on Tuesday evening as they recorded a 3-0 victory against Albania, Folarin Balogun's double taking him to six for the campaign.

Cameron Archer also chipped in with his first strike at this level, and Carsley will now surely look to rest some of his star names after an exhausting season.

Three days after this fixture, England play host to Slovenia, the only team to take points off them since the campaign got underway in September.

Kosovo lost out to England by a 2-0 scoreline when the teams met in the opening game of the group, but they deserve credit for how they have performed since then.

Albert Bunjaki's team are currently on a four-match unbeaten streak, their double-header with nearest rivals Slovenia both ending in goalless draws.

With fifth-placed Albania only two points adrift of third spot, Kosovo are far from guaranteed to finish as best of the rest, and they will be motivated to try to cause a surprise on Friday evening.

Team News

With seven of England's squad having started the last two games, Carsley could take the opportunity to make widespread changes to his team.

Either Carl Rushworth or James Trafford could be handed a debut ahead of regular goalkeeper Joe Bursik, as could James Hill and James McAtee in defence and a creative area respectively.

Max Aarons and Luke Thomas should feature in the full-back positions, Jacob Ramsey may get the nod over Curtis Jones in midfield, and Morgan Gibbs-White, Keane Lewis-Potter and Archer all stand to play in attack.

Kosovo will be without experienced midfielder Kreshnik Krasniqi after his dismissal for two yellow cards against Andorra.

Bayern Munich youngster Behar Neziri could deputise in the middle of the pitch in what may prove to be the only alteration.

Kosovo Under-21s possible starting lineup:
Nreca-Bisinger; Rexhaj, Zumberi, Aliu, Sadriu; Neziri, I. Krasniqi, Zyba; Zeqiri, Berisha, Veliu

England Under-21s possible starting lineup:
Rushworth; Aarons, Hill, Cresswell, Thomas; Doyle, Ramsey; Gibbs-White, McAtee, Lewis-Potter; Archer

We say: Kosovo Under-21s 0-2 England Under-21s

While making widespread changes to his team will make for an interesting exercise for Carsley, he will also be demanding another three points. Although the Young Lions may not have it all their own way, we still expect a relatively comfortable win in Pristina.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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