Marcus Rashford
Marcus Rashford is set to make his debut for England when they take on Australia in a friendly on Friday (27 May) Getty

England continue their preparations for Euro 2016 when they host Australia in their second warm-up game on 27 May (Friday) at the Stadium of Light.

Where to watch live

Kick-off is set for 7.45pm BST. Live coverage of the game in the UK is on ITV1. Radio commentary will be available on BBC Radio 5 Live.

Overview

England face Australia in their second warm-up match ahead of the European Championships, which begin in France on 10 June, but this will be the last match for players to prove themselves before Roy Hodgson cuts his team down to the final 23 after naming a provisional 26-man squad earlier in the month. All eyes will be on Marcus Rashford who is set to make his Three Lions debut after receiving a shock call-up to the senior team, and the 18-year-old will be keen to prove his worth in the short time that he has.

The Manchester United striker's chances of making the final team were boosted after Daniel Sturridge suffered an injury that could rule him out of the tournament. It is up to the manager if he wants to call in a more experienced replacement or stick with the young, inexperienced striker, who has excelled for the Red Devils in his breakthrough campaign. Apart from the Liverpool forward, midfielder Fabian Delph is also a doubt, which could help the manager in his bid to decide the final 23-man squad.

Australia are not the ideal opponents to face prior to taking on the top European sides in the upcoming competition in France, but the Socceroos are likely to provide a tough test with the manager claiming that they will not go easy on their opponents despite being the underdogs. The last fixture between the two sides was in 2003, when Rooney made his debut, and it was not a walk in the park as the Australians ran away 3-1 winners.

What managers say

Roy Hodgson: "I don't really know what to expect from [Rashford]. Don't forget he was a bit unlucky because the amount of time we are going to have with him is very short. It will be Wednesday and Thursday [training], Friday's match and then we have to make a decision on the 23 players."

Ange Postecoglou I don't want to play this underdog crap, I've been over that for a while. I don't really care what other people think, I've always said that. At the end of the day it's really about us and we want to play our football against a good opponent - whether other people like it or don't like it is pretty irrelevant to be honest."

Hopefully we get into the space as a national team and as a nation where we don't really care what other people and other nations think of us. Hopefully they don't want to play us in the future."

Betting odds (Betfair)

  • England win: 2/7
  • Draw: 9/2
  • Australia win: 9

Team news

England

Possible XI: Forster, Clyne, Smalling, Stones, Bertrand, Henderson, Drinkwater, Barkley, Townsend, Sterling, Rashford

Australia

Possible XI: Ryan, Sainsbury, Wright, Risdon, Smith, Milligan, Jendinak, Kruse, Mooy, Rogic, Maclaren