Ollie Watkins is back with the England squad

He is too good to be ignored. It is known who is the leader of England, but coach Gareth Southgate also needs a backup striker, and after Newcastle’s Callum Wilson got injured, he decided to invite Ollie Watkins as well. It is clear that the Aston Villa striker will be an alternative to the captain; however, if he gets his chance…He can be dangerous. He proved it with hat-tricks against Brighton in the Premier League and Hibernian in the qualifiers for the Conference League. he also scored a goal to win at Stamford Bridge, and that's why he was on Southgate’s list for the friendly meeting with Australia (13.10) and Italy as part of the qualifiers for Next summer's European Championship in Germany (October 17).

"Watkins started the season well. He has picked up form in the last few weeks. We have to be careful with him, you can't be biased when it comes to the national team, but he will help us because he is at his best at the moment. He was with us before. We know what kind of character he has, he is good for the group, he trains well at the club level and he will be useful" Southgate explained the striker's presence on the list.

Less than 30 percent of English players start the Premier League matches

Compared to the previous meeting, three players were not present. Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace) and Callum Wilson (Newcastle) all have one thing in common: they are injured. If they weren't, probably everyone would apply for the team. Thus, John Stones from Manchester City returned under the national flag, while a pleasant surprise is the return of West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen.

"He scored five goals in seven games. He can be great on the wing and against Australia he will get a chance to demonstrate his value," suggested Gareth Southgate. Bowen is playing really well for West Ham, but James Ward-Prowse is also playing excellent, yet his absence from the list was visible.

ENGLAND

Goalkeepers: Sam Johnston (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal);

Defence: John Stones (Manchester City), Levi Colville (Chelsea), Lewis Dunk (Brighton), Mark Guehi (Crystal Palace), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Fikayo Tomori (Milan), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle), Kyle Walker (Manchester City);

Midfield: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Jordan Henderson (Al Ettifaq), Calvin Phillips (Manchester City), Declan Rice (Arsenal);

Forwards: Jarrod Bowen (West Ham), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), James Maddison (Tottenham), Eddie Nketiah (Arsenal), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Bukaya Sakho (Arsenal), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa).

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 2

Thursday

19:45: (2.75) Freiburg (3.35) West Ham (2.55)

19:45: (5.50) TSC Backa Topola (3.80) Olympiakos (1.72)

19:45: (2.25) AEK (3.60) Ajax (3.30)

19:45: (3.05) Olympique Marseille (3.50) Brighton (2.40)

19:45: (4.20) Aris Limmasol (3.60) Rangers (1.95)

19:45: (1.80) Betis (3.70) Sparta Praha (5.00)

19:45: (2.50) Rakow (3.40) Sturm (3.00)

19:45: (2.35) Sporting (3.50) Atalanta (3.15)

22:00: (1.18) Liverpool (9.00) St.Gilloise (15.0)

22:00: (1.83) Toulouse (3.70) LASK (4.80)

22:00: (2.35) Maccabi Haifa (3.45) Panathinaikos (3.20)

22:00: (2.00) Villareal (3.60) Rennes (4.00)

22:00: (1.45) Slavia Praha (4.70) Sheriff Tiraspol (8.00)

22:00: (2.55) Hacken (3.50) Qarabag (2.85)

22:00: (1.20) Roma (7.75) Servette (16.0)

22:00: (6.25) Molde (4.40) Leverkusen (1.57)

***odds are subject to change***