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Jack Grealish set to start for England against Czech Republic

Jack Grealish - Jack Grealish set to start for England against Czech Republic - Matt Dunham
Jack Grealish - Jack Grealish set to start for England against Czech Republic - Matt Dunham

Jack Grealish is set to be handed his chance to ignite England’s European Championship campaign by starting against Czech Republic at Wembley tonight.

The Aston Villa captain is expected to take the place of Mason Mount, who has been forced into isolation along with Chelsea team-mate Ben Chilwell.

The news will delight England supporters who have been crying out for Grealish to be given his chance, with the midfielder most likely to start in the number 10 position.

Grealish came off the bench in the draw with Scotland, but, barring any late changes, will now get his first major tournament start for England, who have already qualified.

With Mount also a doubt to start England’s last-16 tie, tonight’s game represents a huge opportunity for Grealish to nail down a starting place in Southgate’s team.

Harry Maguire is likely to start in the centre of defence in place of Tyrone Mings, as the Manchester United man works towards full match fitness.

There have also been suggestions that Southgate has been considering whether or not to offer a shock opportunity on the right to Bukayo Saka at Wembley tonight.

Phil Foden has started both of England’s group games on the right side but Southgate has been contemplating a change in that position with Saka competing against the likes of Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho.

Manchester City’s Kyle Walker is likely to return to the team at right-back, while Shaw could keep his place on the left to play alongside his United team-mate Maguire.

Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips are expected to keep their places in the team, with 17-year-old Jude Bellingham likely to be on the bench despite being one of the players put on standby when Mount was initially placed into precautionary isolation.

Southgate has already confirmed that captain Harry Kane will start tonight and Raheem Sterling is expected to keep his place on the left.