Gareth Southgate has some headaches to contend with as the England manager prepares to select his squad for a pair of high-profile Euro 2024 warm-up friendlies on Thursday.
With just three months to go until their tournament opener against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen, preparations ramp up with March meetings against Brazil and Belgium at Wembley.
This is the last camp before Southgate names his provisional Euros squad just after the Premier League season concludes, with the final selection to be submitted to UEFA on June 8.
Southgate will be hoping to avoid injury to key players before then but first he has to deal with issues over availability, game time and form in this meet up.
Joe Gomez and Jack Butland have been tipped for recalls, while Kalvin Phillips will be hoping he has enough credit in the bank to earn a call-up despite a disastrous start to life at West Ham.
The 28-year-old’s loan from Manchester City has not gone to plan and on Sunday he was culpable for the opener against Burnley, then hauled off at half-time.
The selection of Jordan Henderson, another of Southgate’s favourites, has been another major talking point in the build up to the Euros after he joined Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Ettifaq.
The 33-year-old was included in every squad despite last summer’s controversial move but has now returned to Europe, joining Dutch giants Ajax in January.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, seen as a midfielder by Southgate, has been out for a month due to a knee issue, with Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ross Barkley among those knocking on the door.
Kobbie Mainoo has been tipped in some quarters for a call-up after bursting onto scene impressively at Manchester United, but the 18-year-old could instead join up with the Under-21 set-up.
United team-mate Marcus Rashford has been less impressive and has hot competition in his area of the field, although Jack Grealish is set to miss out this time due to a groin injury.
Anthony Gordon’s hopes of a maiden senior call-up appear to have been dashed by a knee issue and Southgate is sure to be quizzed about Raheem Sterling’s future if the forward is omitted again.
Brentford striker Ivan Toney is pushing to be involved after the one-cap player completed his Football Association betting ban and returned to action in January.
Arguably Southgate’s biggest headache comes at left-back.
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag does not expect Luke Shaw to be back fit until May and Chelsea have announced Ben Chilwell is “undergoing specialist medical assessment” on a knee complaint.
Kieran Trippier has regularly filled in at left-back but he too looks set to miss March’s fixtures, while versatile defender Levi Colwill’s toe complaint could rule him out as well.
Rico Lewis made his bow at left-back and was named man of the match in November’s debut display in North Macedonia, but he has only made four Manchester City appearances in 2024.
Gomez, who won the last of his 11 England caps in 2020, is pushing for a recall having done brilliantly as left-back for Liverpool, while talented Newcastle full-back Tino Livramento has impressed.
Reece James remains out and in-form Ben White has been overlooked since leaving the 2022 World Cup squad.
Marc Guehi has been dealing with a knee injury, but fellow centre-back Harry Maguire should be fit enough to be involved and Eric Dier has made an impressive start to life at Bayern Munich.
Jarrad Branthwaite has also staked a claim with his fine displays at Everton, whose goalkeeper Jordan Pickford is the only definite selection among the shot-stoppers.
Aaron Ramsdale has made just two appearances for Arsenal since the turn of the year and Sam Johnstone has only recently returned to the Crystal Palace starting line-up.
Nick Pope is out with a dislocated shoulder and Southgate has been keeping a close eye on Butland’s performances at Rangers.
Amorim told Europa League qualification is 'mandatory' in first Man Utd season
Ruben Amorim must at least guide Manchester United back into the Europa League in his first season as the club's manager.
That is the view of ex-Manchester City defender Danny Mills, whose former side were beaten 4-1 by Amorim and Sporting CP in the Champions League earlier this month.
Amorim has been hired by Man Utd to replace Erik ten Hag after the Dutchman was sacked midway through his third season in charge at Old Trafford.
Having taken charge of his final games in Lisbon, a spell which included that famous continental win over Man City, Amorim started his work at United during the international break.
His first game at the helm comes this Sunday away at Ipswich Town and while Mills acknowledges the task of rebuilding United's team is a long-term project, he feels there is still a certain level of results Amorim needs to hit in the 2024-25 season.
"Amorim needs to figure out which players fit his mould and buy into his project," former England international Mills said to Stats Perform.
"That will take six months or so. Then he will need to move some players out and bring new ones in.
"This season, though, they still need success. European football – Europa League – is probably mandatory. They must avoid the Conference League.
"Without being disrespectful, third-tier European football isn’t good enough for Manchester United, so it has to be the Europa League or Champions League.
"The Europa League is very achievable and not making it would be a huge disappointment.
"There are still good players at the club and they have still got to aim for the Champions League, but [getting into the top four] will take good coaching, a big turnaround, and maybe a bit of luck."
Amorim is the seventh different manager to take charge of the club since Alex Ferguson's retirement in 2013.
The 39-year-old won three Portuguese league titles with Benfica as a player while he left Sporting as head coach after guiding them to two league titles and two Taca da Liga trophies.
Sporting also started this season by winning all 11 league games under Amorim before his departure.
"The appointment of Ruben Amorim is a good one," added Mills. "You have to look at the people involved [in the appointment] as well.
"Dan Ashworth hasn’t made too many wrong decisions as a sporting or technical director. Throughout his career, at West Brom, England, Brighton, and Newcastle, his recruitment has been very good.
"Jason Wilcox, who sits under him, did incredibly well at Manchester City. He identified many young players who, if they didn’t become stars at City, went on to become stars elsewhere.
"Recruitment will be handled well in terms of managers, coaches, and players, but that takes time and it’s going to take at least two or three transfer windows.
"I like that Amorim came in and said, ‘Right, that’s it. A new start’. He has moved away from the Ferguson era that people keep harping on about.
"Ten-plus years ago, we knew how good Manchester United were, but football moves on. Liverpool went through a similar phase after their success in the 1980s."
Amorim takes over at United with the club 13th in the Premier League with 15 points from 11 matches and having collected just one win from four matches in the Europa League.
Mills believes there is plenty for United fans to like about the new boss' approach on and off the pitch.
"Football has evolved faster in the last 10 years than ever before and Amorim deals with the press well," he said.
"When Sporting beat Manchester City, he admitted they played well but got a bit lucky. People appreciate that honesty.
"Fans and pundits are more knowledgeable now than ever before, thanks to the amount of football they consume and the opinions they hear, especially on social media."
After facing Ipswich, Amorim's first two home games will see Man Utd take on Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League and Everton in the Premier League.
He will then take the Red Devils to the Emirates Stadium for a huge clash against Arsenal on 4 December.
United reached this season's Europa League by winning the FA Cup under Ten Hag and they have that potential path again this season, while they are also still in the EFL Cup, a competition in which they will play Tottenham in the quarter-finals.
Winning the Europa League itself, meanwhile, would mean qualification to the Champions League.
But while there are multiple routes open to Amorim in his bid to secure a continental spot, the Opta supercomputer does not like his chances of doing that through United's league placing.
After their poor start to the season, United have just a 13.2% chance of finishing in the top six, and a 33.1% shot at reaching the top eight.
As things stand, they are most likely to finish between ninth and 11th, meaning they are on track for their worst-ever Premier League finish unless Amorim can lead a rapid revival.
Slot deserves praise for modest approach to Liverpool job – Mills
Arne Slot deserves praise for not being "arrogant" with his approach to succeeding Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool boss, according to Danny Mills.
The Dutchman has made a hugely positive start to life at Anfield since replacing long-serving Klopp ahead of the 2024-25 season.
The 28 points Slot has collected is the joint-most of any manager in their opening 11 Premier League games along with Guus Hiddink at Chelsea.
Liverpool's only blemish on an otherwise perfect start to the top-flight campaign was a 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest in September.
Indeed, only in 2019-20 (31 points) have Liverpool collected more points after 11 games of a Premier League season than their 28 this campaign.
Former Leeds United and Manchester City defender Mills has been particularly impressed by Slot's approach to a new era at Anfield.
"Arne Slot has surprised me," Mills told Stats Perform. "They did have a difficult defeat against Nottingham Forest at home. That was a defeat not many people saw that coming, but the start he's had is unbelievable. It's incredible.
"Training might be slightly different, but the style of play is very similar. The players are comfortable with it. They've been high-energy, closing people down, and playing at 100 miles an hour when they win the ball back.
"It shows managerial intelligence to understand the players' qualities and build on what they had when they were successful. He hasn't overthought it or tinkered too much.
"He hasn’t been arrogant and said, 'I'm going to rip it up and start fresh'. It wasn't broken; it was already successful. He's just added to it."
Liverpool won a first ever Premier League title during Klopp's eight-and-a-half years in charge, as well the Champions League in 2018-19.
Klopp also lifted the FA Cup, two EFL Cups, the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup, setting a high benchmark to follow.
"Liverpool identified the man they wanted, brought him in, and he's been very clever," Mills added. "He looked at the squad and thought, 'these are good players. I don't need to change too much'.
"That's smart because Liverpool were very successful under Klopp. If you come in and rip up the playbook and it doesn't work, players will question why they're not doing what worked under Klopp."
Liverpool have conceded just six goals in the Premier League this season – four fewer than next-best Nottingham Forest.
They are conceding at a rate of around 0.5 goals per game, compared to around 1.1 in Klopp's final season in charge (41 goals in 38 matches).
"Slot has tweaked things slightly, maybe made them more defensively solid, which they needed to really challenge," Mills said. "Championship-winning or Champions League-winning teams are built on solid defences.
"You don't win without that. He's shored up the defence and allowed the players to continue doing what they were doing before."
Rodri: Messi is the greatest player of all time, without any doubt
Manchester City and Spain star Rodri has suggested that Lionel Messi pipped Cristiano Ronaldo as the greatest footballer of all time.
The 28-year-old was recently awarded the 2024 Ballon d'Or as recognition for a period in which he won the Champions League in 2023 and Euro 2024 with Spain the next year.
Ex-Barcelona man Messi has won three of the last four Ballon d'Ors prior to Rodri, with the midfielder claiming that the latter is the greatest "without any doubt" during an interview on Spanish TV.
"Lionel Messi is the greatest player of all time, without any doubt. Cristiano has managed to match Messi without innate talent. But those of us who have played against them can see the difference," said Rodri, speaking to El Hormiguero.
"We didn’t want Cristiano to step into the box because he was lethal there. But with Messi, the danger was everywhere on the pitch."
Ronaldo has scored a total of 928 goals in his career for club and country, winning 34 major trophies including five Champions League titles. He has also won the Ballon d'Or on five occasions.
Messi, meanwhile, has scored 877 goals, won the Champions League on four occasions and the Ballon d'Or five times, most recently in 2023.
Messi is now at Inter Miami, while Rodri is recovering from an ACL injury at Manchester City, although the two faced each other in LaLiga during the midfielder's spells at Villarreal and Atletico Madrid before his Premier League move.
"When Messi got the ball, you’d think: 'Oh, danger'," he added. "When I first started playing against him, I tried to take the ball from him, and he dodged you as if you were a bull in the ring. The feeling I had was that something bad was about to happen."
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