Paul Robinson's Picks: Can England bounce back with a win against Bulgaria tonight?

After a disappointing performance on Friday that saw England suffer defeat at the hands of the Czech Republic, Gareth Southgate’s men will desperately be looking to seal qualification for next year’s European Championship with an away win against Bulgaria tonight.

The defeat against Czech Republic will have come as a shock to many fans, after England were victorious against them earlier in the year with a 5-0 win.

England manager Southgate will probably call for some changes after so many of his players on Friday night underperformed.

In my opinion, the defence has to change. I think Southgate should revert back to the three at the back and two wings backs, a formation that that served them so well before and during the last World Cup campaign.

However, the defensive problems don’t just lie across the back four. When looking at England’s midfield, it is porous and offers little protection to the fragile back four.

If I had to select one player that I would have in my the starting XI, I think it is Harry Winks. The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder offers more than others in his position, both offensively and defensively. Using four attacking players against the Czech Republic left us extremely vulnerable and I think tonight we should be setting up in a 3-5-2 formation.

Bulgaria v England: OVER 2 Goals, OVER 3 Cards & OVER 10 Corners WAS 5.50 now 6.00*

Harry Kane to Score First Goal WAS 3.00 NOW 3.50*

Ahead of tonight’s game, Bulgaria sit rock bottom of Group A with three losses and three draws from their games in the qualifiers.

When looking at FIFA rankings, Bulgaria are 18 places below the Czech Republic, and have failed to win any of their last 10 games across all competitions – a run which will have stretched back more than a year.

An opposition like Bulgaria means that England should surely take home a win, with the home team’s hopes of qualifying for Euro 2020 via this competition over.

In addition, it’s been 10-years since England lost back-to-back away games in any competition, meaning that Southgate will no doubt demand a sharp response from his side after such a poor performance in Prague.

If you want my prediction, I am going for a 3-1 England win with Sterling making the score sheet.