England line up Wembley Czechmate

England can justify an 8-11 quote from totesport to beat the Czech Republic in a friendly at Wembley on Wednesday evening.

The match is England’s final outing before they begin their World Cup qualifying campaign against Andorra next month, so it is reasonable to think that Fabio Capello will be taking this seriously.

Capello has three wins out of four without his side threatening to set the world alight, but he will be keen to take a positive message into the qualifying games.

The Czech Republic, under Petr Rada for the first time since he took over as coach from Karel Bruckner after the team’s early exit from Euro 2008, also have a World Cup qualifier on the horizon next month, in their case against Northern Ireland.

Capello is not flush with strikers for the game, with only three — Emile Heskey, Wayne Rooney and Jermaine Defoe — in the squad, although he could also opt to push Theo Walcott forward.

He should, though, have plenty of solidity at the back in the shape of captain John Terry and Rio Ferdinand, especially with the retirement from international football of Jan Koller, leaving the Czech’s short on firepower.

The inconsistent Milan Baros, well known to English fans, provides the main threat, although midfielder Marek Jankulovski has a respectable scoring record with ten goals in 62 internationals.

At the back, Tomas Ujfalusi impressed in four years at Fiorentina before joining Atletico Madrid, while Petr Cech is a familiar last line of defence.

Both sides are solid rather than packed with flair, but England should have enough about them to secure a timely win for Capello.

The Czech Republic are a stand-out 9-2 with Bet365, with the draw a general 5-2.