Gareth Southgate is set to revert to a three-man defence for England’s European Championship last-16 tie against Germany at Wembley tonight.

England are yet to concede a goal in the tournament, but, barring a late change of heart, Southgate wants to match up the Germans and play with a similar formation to the one with which his team beat Belgium last October and reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup.

That means Harry Maguire will keep his place and line up on the left of a back three, with John Stones in the middle and Kyle Walker on the right.

Kieran Trippier, who should give England greater threat from set-pieces, and Luke Shaw are in line to start in the wing-back positions.

But the change in formation appears to be bad news for England fans’ favourite Jack Grealish. The Aston Villa captain is the most obvious fall guy with Raheem Sterling keeping his place on the left and Phil Foden hoping to take Bukayo Saka’s place on the right.

Grealish set up Sterling’s winner against Czech Republic, but he is likely to have to try to make an impact from the substitutes’ bench. 

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]