England returned to winning ways as they defeated Turkey and they will want to keep their spirits up by defeating Australia as well.

The Socceroos are on a four-match winning run at the moment, but they will have much bigger fish to fry at the Stadium of Light on Friday.

For the first time in quite a while, England head to a major competition with a realistic chance of reaching the final stages and that is certainly something new for the fans.

The reality is that Roy Hodgson’s men went through the qualifying campaign without dropping a single point, while they also impressed in first warm-up games for the tournament finals.

The amazing comeback and victory over old rivals Germany definitely served as a major confidence boost, and chances are that unlucky loss to Netherlands will not prove too detrimental to the dressing room atmosphere.

Despite missing several first team players, England impressed to record a 2-1 triumph over Turkey last weekend and they are now 1.25 (1/4) to see off Australia as well.

Roy Hodgson is expected to ring changes to his starting line-up, but Jamie Vardy has been given permission to miss the game as he is set to get married.

Man Utd youngster Marcus Rashford is certain to play a part after recovering from injury, while Wayne Rooney and Chris Smalling should start after missing the Turkey game.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Forster – Clyne, Smalling, Cahill, Bertrand – Barkley, Drinkwater, Delph – Townsend, Sturridge, Rooney.

Australia have enjoyed plenty of success since they switched to the Asian Zone, more recently lifting the 2015 Asian Cup trophy on home soil.

The Socceroos have since enjoyed a great start to the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, winning seven of first eight fixture to qualify for the third round.

And having been placed in the group that also contains Japan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and UAE, they should be able to finish in top 2 and qualify for the tournament finals.

Australia will face England and Greece (two times) in the final warm-up game before the third round begins and they will want to extend the good run of results.

The likes of Tim Cahill, Nathan Burns, Matthew Spiranovic, Trent Sainsbury and Apostolos Giannou have all been left out of the squad due to club commitments.

The good news is that Crystal Palace captain Mile Jedinak has recovered from injury, while Stefan Mauk, Jamie Maclaren and Milos Dejenek will be hoping to win their first caps.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Ryan – Risdon, Wright, Wilkinson, Behich – Jedinak, Milligan – Rogic, Mooy, Ikonomidis – Kruse.