Date: 5th March Venue: Wembley Stadium Kick off: 8:00pm England host Denmark as Roy Hodgson's side continue their preparations ahead of this summer's World Cup in Brazil. Team News England's main injury concerns are in defence, as Hodgson is without centre backs Phil Jagielka and Phil Jones. Tottenham's Kyle Walker has also been withdrawn from the squad due to a hip injury, meaning Glen Johnson will start at right back. Denmark may have to contend without star man Christian Eriksen for the friendly at Wembley. Spurs manager Tim Sherwood revealed on Sunday that the Danish midfielder is struggling with a back problem and will undergo a late fitness test. Key Stats The Danes won the last fixture on English soil between these two, winning 3-2 at Old Trafford in 2003. However, in the 19 meetings between Denmark and England, the Three Lions have only lost on three occasions. Five places separate the two teams in the current FIFA World Rankings, with England in 15th and Denmark in 20th. Denmark's head coach, Morten Olsen, is the only person in football to ever achieve 100 matches for his country as a player and coach. Likely Line-Ups England (4-2-3-1) Hart; Johnson, Smalling, Cahill, Shaw; Gerrard, Wilshere; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Rooney, Sterling and Sturridge. Denmark (4-4-3) Andersen; Jacobsen, Bjelland, Agger, Kristensen; Poulsen, Kvist, Zimling; Kahlenberg, Bendtner and Krohn-Dehli. Match Preview With 99 days to go until the World Cup kicks off in Brazil, Hodgson must now be making preliminary thoughts as to who will make his final 23-man squad. Following two successive friendly defeats to Chile and Germany in November, the visit of Denmark provides England with the opportunity of a much needed confidence boost. Several youngsters have been included in the Three Lions' squad for tonight's game, with Luke Shaw of Southampton poised to make his debut. Raheem Sterling is another youngster who will be keen to impress against the Danes. The Liverpool winger has been in scintillating form recently, netting 7 goals this season, and with Theo Walcott out of the World Cup, there is potential for him to make the plane to Brazil. Hodgson admitted on Saturday that he can learn little from playing regulars such as Wayne Rooney and captain Steven Gerrard against Denmark, hinting that he may well provide some fringe players with a starting spot instead. Although Denmark failed to qualify for Brazil 2014, England can still expect to face a stern test from Olsen's side. The Danes came second in their qualification group, trailing Euro 2012 finalists Italy by six points. The potential absence of playmaker Eriksen would, however, severely dent Denmark's prospects of claiming a scalp at Wembley. The 22-year-old is the team's heartbeat and caught the eye when the two sides last met in 2011. England should have too much quality for the visitors and must be favourites to record a victory as they begin to prepare for Brazil. Prediction: 2-0 source - bbc football
Simon is an NCTJ qualified sports journalist. He has conducted interviews with Tony Adams and Peter Shilton, while also having work published in The Daily Telegraph and The Sun. Follow him on Twitter via @sr_collings.
