England Under-21s and Portugal Under-21s square off in an international friendly at Ashton Gate on Friday night.

These nations have booked their place at the European Under-21 Championship next summer.

Match preview

While England Under-21s have won the last two European Championships, they are not showing the kind of form which suggests that they can win a third crown in a row.

Even prior to losing 3-1 in Republic of Ireland in their most recent fixture, Lee Carsley had witnessed his team held to a 1-1 draw in Andorra and only record a 4-2 triumph over Kazakhstan on home territory.

Just one clean sheet has been kept in five games, that coming in a goalless draw at home to Slovakia.

Although England did enough to win their qualification group with a game to spare, their defensive record indicates that they will be outsiders when it comes to the next major tournament.

Only one defender in this squad - Chelsea's Josh Acheampong - is earning regular Premier League football, emphasising the size of the task that they have to overcome a nation such as Portugal.

Luis Freire's have hardly been perfect themselves, with a 2-1 defeat to Bulgaria having been posted in September.

However, Portugal have incredibly won their other 10 matches across an 11-game period with a clean sheet.

Either side of the Bulgaria setback, 10 goals have been netted in fixtures versus Northern Ireland, Gibraltar and Czech Republic.

As much as Carsley's team need to test themselves against opposition of the level of Portugal, Freire will want to see how his players handle England's attacking flair.

These teams last squared off as recently as March 2025, with England recording a 4-2 victory at The Hawthorns.

England Under-21s form (all competitions):

Portugal Under-21s form (all competitions):

Team News

With the likes of Josh King, Tyler Dibling and Will Lankshear not in the England Under-21s squad, changes will be made in midfield and attack.

Jack Hinshelwood may be drafted into midfield, while Divin Mubama could get the nod as the number nine.

Liverpool midfielder Trey Nyoni, Arsenal winger Max Dowman and Norwich City's Jovon Makama are all hoping to earn their first caps.

Portugal will make at least three changes in the final third, a consequence of Carlos Forbs, Rodrigo Mora and Gustavo Varela not being named in this squad.

Olympiacos' Gustavo Sa should return in the number 10 role, Trabzonspor winger Noah Saviolo may feature on the flank and Augsburg's Rodrigo Ribeiro is in line to get the nod down the centre of the attack.

England Under-21s possible starting lineup:

Beadle; Acheampong, Phillips, Alleyne, Lewis; Gray; Nwaneri, Hinshelwood, Peck, George; Mubama

Portugal Under-21s possible starting lineup:

Ferreira; Banjaqui, Gabriel, Oliveira, Rego; De Amorim, Essugo; Saviolo, Sa, Moreira; Ribeiro

We say: England Under-21s 2-3 Portugal Under-21s

This has all the makings of a thrilling contest and England Under-21s are probably justified marginal favourites. However, Portugal also have an array of talent at this level, leading us to predict an away victory in a game full of goals.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.