Saints come marching in to our preferred England line-up

We were so impressed with Southampton’s Englishmen-inspired masterclass in their last Premier League game, that both Adam Lallana and Jay Rodriguez make our line-up to face Chile, while Rickie Lambert would have led the line if fit.

Roy Hodgson’s presence at St Mary’s for Saints’ 3-0 win over Hull had a remarkable effect on their English contingent and for their skipper Lallana particularly, it was a performance which thrust him towards another crack at international level.

Lallana has long been touted as a top talent and the midfielder’s dazzling individual goal capped one of the more outstanding performances from an English midfielder in recent memory.

Unsurprisingly, the versatile right-footer – who can play in any one of the three positions behind a front man – makes it in to our chosen side to face Chile in what promises to be a tough test at Wembley, reflected by the 1/1 on offer for a home victory.

In goal we have gone with Celtic stopper Fraser Forster, who certainly deserves his chance to don the gloves, while Gary Cahill and Phil Jagielka are the natural choices to develop their burgeoning partnership from qualifying in the centre of defence.

Glen Johnson comes back from injury at right-back, while Arsenal’s Kieran Gibbs deserves a chance at international level after a fine start to the season for his club and this is what friendlies are for after all.

In midfield, Jordan Henderson is rewarded for his own rapid improvement in a Liverpool shirt this season, by slotting in next to England’s century-maker Frank Lampard, with Wayne Rooney taking up his preferred number 10 role just in front of those two.

So, it’s left to a three-pronged attack with Lallana off the right, Rodriguez off the left and Jermaine Defoe leading the line in Lambert’s absence.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

Fancy a flutter? Sign up today to claim three £10 free bets when you bet £10.