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Harry Kane is in contention to lead the line for England against Scotland when the two nations meet in their World Cup Qualifier at Wembley on Friday night.International Football: FIFA World Cup 2018 Qualifiers November 11, 2016, 10:00pm Live on Get Sky Sports Get a Sky Sports pass The Spurs forward returned from seven weeks out with an ankle injury to play 73 minutes in the north London derby draw on Sunday and could feature alongside Wayne Rooney, who will captain the side.Interim boss Gareth Southgate is set to manage England for the third time, following a victory over Malta and a goalless draw in Slovenia, with Tuesdays friendly against Spain his final match before the Football Association make a long-term decision on his future. England interim manager Gareth Southgate confirms Wayne Rooney will captain England in Friday nights World Cup qualifier with Scotland Scotland sit fourth from six teams in World Cup qualifying Group F, having picked up four points from their opening three matches, while England top the group on seven points.Gordon Strachans side suffered a 3-0 defeat away to Slovakia in their previous fixture, but the Scotland boss is expected to welcome Scott Brown back following the midfielders decision to reverse his international retirement. Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for just ￡6.99. No contract. Team newsSouthgate confirmed England have no fitness concerns heading into the match, with Rooney retaining the captaincy.The England boss does have a decision to make on Kane after the Tottenham striker came through unscathed against Arsenal. Kane has worked with Gareth Southgate with England U21s Steven Fletcher is a doubt for the visitors after injuring his knee, but he is Scotlands only worry.Celtic midfielder Brown, who captained his country under Strachan before retiring from internationals, is likely to recover from a dead leg suffered on Saturday. Key battle: Henderson v Fletcher Jordan Henderson v Darren Fletcher: The key battle when England host Scotland Opta statsThis will be the third time that these two sides have met in an international match this century, with England winning the previous two; 3-2 in August 2013 and 3-1 in November 2014.The last time that England and Scotland met in a competitive fixture was back in November 1999 at Wembley. Scotland prevailed 1-0 thanks to a goal from Don Hutchison, but lost the Euro 2000 play-off tie 2-1 on aggregate. Thousands of Scotland supporters are expected at Wembley for the World Cup qualifier against England This will be only the third time that these two sides have met in a World Cup Qualifier - the previous two were both won by England (1950 and 1954).Rooney scored two goals from just three shots in Englands 3-1 win over Scotland in November 2014 at Celtic Park. Ed Draper is joined by Paul Merson to look ahead to Fridays World Cup Qualifier between England and Scotland The Three Lions have kept a clean sheet in each of their last three matches - they havent kept four in a row since October 2015.Five of Englands last seven international wins have come from a goal scored in the 83rd minute or later. Fulham and Scotland striker Chris Martin does not believe Gordon Strachans team should fear England England are currently unbeaten in 32 international qualifiers (World Cup and Euros combined); winning 24 and drawing eight.The last 10 goals scored by England in qualification matches have all come from different players. Former Scotland manager Bobby Brown takes us through some of his memorable moments v England Scotland have won just two of their last eight qualification games (World Cup and Euros combined) and these two wins have come against Gibraltar and Malta (D3 L3).Strachans side have failed to score in three of their last four international matches played outside of Scotland. Danny Higginbotham discusses tactics with Rob Wotton as they look ahead to the World Cup qualifying clash between England and Scotland at Wembley Only Germany (71.9 per cent) and Spain (71.8 per cent) have averaged more possession than England (71.2 per cent) in the 2018 World Cup qualification stages so far.England also have the second best passing accuracy in qualification (89.1 per cent), behind only Germany (89.6 per cent). Aaron Cresswell gives his reaction to receiving an England call-up Charlie predictsEveryone is saying England arent very good but they are good, theyre just not a great side. Former Scotland manager Alex McLeish has mixed memories of Wembley both as a fan and as a player Adam Lallana and Raheem Sterling are the two that concern me the most. Sterling is a player who can really open us up with his pace.I dont think a draw does Scotland much good, whereas a win gets us back in the mix. Id rather get beat 3-1 than lose 1-0 defending, although its easy for me to say that. Jordan Henderson captained England in their last match but thinks the returning Wayne Rooney will add vital experience As underdogs we will fight and scrap but please have an attacking method as well. I do expect England to win. Im a realist and in my mind I think England will prevail by at least two goals.Charlie predicts: 3-1 and Sterling to score first (45/1 with Sky Bet)Watch highlights of England v Scotland on Sky Sports 1 HD at 10pm on Friday.Also See:Key battle: Henderson v FletcherRooney captain against ScotsMartin not afraid of EnglandEng v Scot: Cost of squadsBarry Sanders Youth Jersey .Y. -- Leading 3-0 with only 11:25 left, the Colorado Avalanche committed a seemingly meaningless penalty to give the New York Islanders a power play. Will Harris Womens Jersey . Varlamov made 33 saves and Ryan OReilly had a goal and scored in the shootout as the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Thursday night. http://www.shopdetroitlionsnfl.com/lions-austin-bryant-black-jersey/ . During the athletes parade, the 23-strong Ukrainian team was represented by a lone flagbearer in an apparent protest at the presence of Russian troops in Ukraines Crimean peninsula. Barry Sanders Jersey . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. Jarrad Davis Womens Jersey . The 17-year-old native of Marystown, N.L., pulled out of Skate Canada International last month in Saint John, N.B., with the same problem.So here we go. The Chicago Cubs are going to ...Wait. Get a grip. What am I doing? What am I saying? What am I getting myself into?Yes, its time for that column youve been looking, waiting for all these months. Time for that moment when I (incorrectly) tell you exactly who will (translation: wont) win the World Series.And it would be soooooo easy, soooooo safe, soooooo obvious to pick You Know Who. The best team in baseball. The winningest team in baseball. The team with the legendary 798-year World Series drought. (OK, so its 108 -- whatever.) The team that would rock the planet like no one else if it actually, finally, magically wins the World Series.But sorry, my friends. Cant do it. I made up my mind eight years ago that I am never, ever going to pick the Cubs to win the World Series again. They can thank me later.The Boston Red Sox are going to win the 2016 World Series. Thats my actual (guaranteed to be inaccurate) prediction. But when it came time to write this piece, I felt there were just as many reasons to explain why I WASNT picking the Cubs as why I WAS picking the Red Sox.So why not the Cubs? Ill get to that momentarily. But first, its time to reveal the results of my annual Whos Going to Win the World Series survey of 25 astute baseball executives. And if youre expecting a Cubs landslide here, well, the results are revealing.I asked the group to pick the team that would advance to the World Series from each league and then predict who would win it. In the case of execs from clubs in contention, I asked them just to pick a team in their league they feared most, along with the club they thought would get to the Series from the other league.I conduct this survey every year because A) its fascinating and B) hey, nothing makes me feel better about my own prognostication ineptitude than knowing that the smartest front-office minds in the game are just as awful at this as I am.Over the past two years, do you want to guess how many execs who took part in this exercise guessed the eventual winner of the World Series? That would be exactly ONE. None predicted the Giants in 2014. One picked the Royals last year. So keep that in mind as we unveil the results of this years voting:American League Favorite (or Most-Feared Team) Red Sox 16 Rangers 7 Blue Jays 2*(*Survey conducted while the wild-card race was still raging.)National League Favorite (or Most-Feared Team) Cubs 13 Dodgers 10 Nationals 2World Series Winner Cubs 7 Red Sox 6 Dodgers 4 Rangers 4So did you expect it to be that close? Nope. Me, neither. But I got the distinct vibe that many of these folks felt much like I did -- that picking the best team never makes you look like a genius anyway, so why not go down some other road?Obviously, the pick is the Cubs in the National League, quipped one NL exec. So I like the Dodgers.Too much hype about the Cubs, said another.Out of principle, I wont pick them, said an AL exec.Well, Im not sure precisely what principle is at work here. But you get the idea. So why not the Cubs? Here are four reasons why not:1. Beware of the No. 1 seed: Only two times in the past 25 postseasons has the team with sole possession of the best record in baseball won the World Series (2009 Yankees, 1998 Yankees). And to find the last time a National League team had the best record and won it all, you need to go back (gulp) 30 years -- to the 86 Mets. So theres that.2. The pressure is about to mount: In the postseason, the pressure on both teams to win is usually about 50-50, one exec said. But in this case ... the pressure is on the Cubs every game, because of how well theyve played, because of their record and, most of all, because of the expectations, especially in that city. If they lose one of the first two games at Wrigley, the pressure will be incredible.3. Whats up with Jake? Two different execs went out of their way to discuss the recent issues of Jake Arrieta, a guy whose work over his past 16 starts (4.44 ERA) looks a lot different than the superhuman impression hed been doing over the previous year and a half. Never seen him look so ordinary, one NL exec said after Arrietas last start. I would be concerned if I was them.4. The voice of doom: Finally, the last thing a team saddled with a 108-year title drought needs is MY support. Ive been writing this column before every postseason for more than a decade. Ive picked the Cubs three times -- 2003, 2007 and 2008. If you dont recall their jubilant World Series parades in any of those years, you would be correct. Thats all my fault. My prediction record is so disastrous, Im practically the Cleveland Browns of prognosticators. So why would I want to go and doom the Cubs at a time like this? If the bitter residents of Chicago ever decide to blame someone besides a billy goat, I dont need that someone to be me. I think the Cubs will get to the World Series. But somebody else can piick them to win.dddddddddddd Im out.Phew. Glad I got that out of the way. I feel better now. But more importantly, that allows me to move along to the other big theme of this column:Five reasons the Red Sox will win1. What a lineup: The Red Sox have scored an incredible 83 more runs than the next-best offense in the American League (Cleveland). While the Blue Jays had a similar run-scoring gap last season, only one other AL team in the past 80 years has managed to put up a 100-run gap between itself and the pack -- and you need to go back all the way to the 1950 Red Sox to find that one. Their lineup is so deep and so good, said one AL exec. The way they work counts, foul balls off, wear down pitchers, theyre just so good. And they hit good pitching.2. Their strength is greater than any other teams strength: Lets get back to that last line: They hit good pitching. Or to put this in the words of a rival GM: Bostons offense is the singular best strength of all the teams. Now those are words that get my attention this time of year. When we try to break down which clubs profile best to survive the four-week October marathon, isnt that what we look for -- a team so dominant that even the best teams in the sport cant stop it from doing what it does best? And thats the Red Sox. Against pitchers who average a strikeout per inning or better, the Sox lead the major leagues in average, on-base percentage, slugging and OPS. Against pitchers defined as power pitchers, Bostons OPS (.798) is 65 points higher than the next-best team. But the Red Sox are also first in OPS against finesse pitchers (.848). And they went into the weekend as the only team in the past five years with an OPS of .800 or better against both left-handed and right-handed pitching. So good luck finding a matchup that looks like this teams kryptonite.3. Their rotation is better than you think: It would have been easy to theorize a month ago that this team didnt have enough starting pitching to navigate October. But you might want to rethink that. Clay Buchholz and Eduardo Rodriguez have made 11 starts between them since Sept. 1. Theyve allowed two runs or fewer in eight of those starts. Nobody questions whether Rick Porcello is the real deal anymore. (Hes dangerous, super-confident, incredibly intelligent and super-aggressive, said one rival exec. Hes put it all together.) And while you can feel free to question David Prices 5.12 career postseason ERA, Id rather have him pitching Game 1 or 2 than a lot of guys, a longtime NL exec said. Price is 8-0 and 2.37 in his past eight starts against teams other than the Yankees (who wont be participating), for what thats worth.4. Their bullpen is hot: Amazing how the return of Koji Uehara has put the pieces of this bullpen back in place. Since the beginning of September, the Red Sox pen ranks second in the AL in ERA (1.81), and first in opponent average (.198) and strikeout rate (10.4 K/9). The funny thing is, aside from concerns about their left-handed relief, the most questions I heard about anyone in this bullpen were about the closer, Craig Kimbrel, mostly because of his 15 walks in his past 20 innings. (There are days it looks like he just doesnt trust himself, and I dont know why, said one scout.) But if the biggest worry in this bullpen is a man with 83 strikeouts and just 28 hits in 53 innings, that doesnt sound like much of a crisis to me.5. Papi Power: Every once in a while in sports, the script writes itself. So theres just something about the way the stars keep lining up for David Ortizs retirement tour that feels as if there could be one more incredible chapter to come. One NL exec admits that when he picked the Red Sox, thats part of the equation. Theres definitely something magical about it. Well, if there is, you might want to file this away. According to Elias Sports Bureau research, only two position players in the past 60 years (Dal Maxvill and Gene Tenace, back in the 1960s, 70s and 80s) have won four World Series without sneaking onto the Yankees. And nobody has won four for a team that wasnt the Yankees since Jim Gilliam did it for the Dodgers in the 50s and 60s. Well, Big Papi already has three rings. And October looms.So there you have it. Five carefully thought-out reasons why this pick makes sense, backed with the reassuring support of a bunch of really bright people in the game. Now what could possibly go wrong?Outside of the fact that any team in this tournament (including the Cubs) could turn into the 2014 Giants as soon as this fun begins, I can think of only one thing that could get in the way of the Red Soxs fourth ride on the duck boats in the past 12 years:That they just got picked by me to win it all, of course. Which means theyre now officially doomed.ay of the Red Soxs fourth ride on the duck boa