Andrew Maddox

Tue 28 June 2022 14:10, UK

Aston Villa’s Young Lions are set to star for England Under-19s as they search for a place in the Under-19 European Championships final.

Ian Foster’s side takes on Italy on Tuesday evening (28 June) for a spot in the final after topping their group with three wins from three.

Carney Chukwuemeka and Aaron Ramsey have been involved in all three matches so far while Tim Iroegbunam sat out of England’s final group match against Israel.

England rotated the team and the system for Israel, leading to Iroegbunam missing out on the win.

Italy come into the match having finished second in their group off the back of a heavy defeat to France in their group closer.

Who will play?

There is quite simply no way that Chukwuemeka will not play.

The midfield maestro has directly contributed four of England’s seven goals so far in the tournament with two goals and two assists.

Chukwuemeka played a slightly different role than he is used to in the Israel victory, playing behind a front three instead of a pair of strikers.

This took a lot of the creative burden off him, but in turn, led to a quieter performance from Chukwuemeka.

With this match being straight knockout football, it can be expected that England will return to their favoured 5-3-2 system that carried them through the first two matches.

This opens up another space in central midfield for Tim Iroegbunam to return to the team, who missed out to Bristol City’s Alex Scott against Israel.

However, with the success of Liam Delap and Dane Scarlett in the groups, it is difficult to see a place in the line-up for Ramsey.

While he may come off the bench as he did in the previous two games, that is all the football he is likely to get this evening.

Fans can watch Aston Villa’s starlets battle out for a spot in the final from 4 PM, with the match being shown on the BBC iPlayer.

In other Aston Villa news, Steven Gerrard’s plan for Keinan Davis has been revealed.