England squad announcement LIVE: Gareth Southgate reveals Raheem Sterling and Bukayo Saka decisions

Defensive options for Southgate?

John Stones’ injury has given England manager Gareth Southgate the chance to explore his centre-back options in the Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia, writes Carl Markham.

The City defender was forced off with a problem in Tuesday’s Champions League win over Young Boys with boss Pep Guardiola admitting it is “deep bad news”.

But with qualification for the summer’s tournament in Germany already secured, Southgate can afford to look at his back-up options.

Brighton captain Lewis Dunk and AC Milan’s Fikayo Tomori started together in last month’s friendly win over Australia but Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi was the man Southgate opted to replace Stones for the final 27 minutes against Italy and has the most caps of the trio.

Injuries to Ben Chilwell and Luke Shaw meant Kieran Trippier filled in at left-back against Italy but Chelsea’s Levi Colwill started against Australia and could be another one to benefit from any experimentation.

Colwill’s club captain Reece James could be in for a recall having returned from injury.

Bowen and Watkins to keep their places?

Jarrod Bowen and Ollie Watkins were the headline selections last time after their impressive starts to the Premier League season. Bowen has made Premier League history by scoring in six away games in a row for West Ham since the start of the campaign, while Watkins scored against Australia at Wembley after Southgate’s pick.

Sterling’s return?

Only Harry Kane has scored more goals for England under Gareth Southgate than Raheem Sterling, but the forward has not been in a squad since the World Cup - a year ago.

Sterling has scored two goals in the five games since the last squad - is this enough to merit a return, or has Southgate made his mind up already in what is a competitive area of the team?

Kane, Jarrod Bowen, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, James Maddison, Eddie Nketiah, Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Ollie Watkins were named in a 26-man squad last time out.

When is England’s squad announced?

Gareth Southgate will name his England squad at 2pm GMT on Thursday 9 November.

Gareth Southgate names his latest England squad this afternoon ahead of qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia as the Three Lions continue their preparations ahead of Euro 2024.

There are just four games to go before Southgate announces his 23-player squad for next summer’s tournament, which England qualified for last month thanks to a 3-1 win over Italy at Wembley.

With qualification secured, England will now look to seal top spot in the group and earn a seeded position ahead of the Euro 2024. But with matches against Malta and North Macedonia (ranked 171st and 66th in the Fifa rankings respectively), Southgate also has the chance to look at some of his back-up options.

John Stones is set to miss out after picking up an injury this week while all eyes will be on Raheem Sterling and whether his improved form for Chelsea has earned the forward his first selection since the World Cup.

Follow live updates from Wembley as the England squad is revealed