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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 Fletcher Rooney captain against Scots Martin not afraid of England Eng v Scot: Cost of squads . Batiste, who briefly signed with the Eskimos in 2006, has spent time with several NFL teams including the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins. . The (11-11-4) Jets are seventh in the Central Division with 26 points. Fifth place Dallas and sixth-seeded Nashville also have 26 points, but the Stars have three games in hand on Winnipeg while Nashville has two. . Speaking to the Chicago Tribune at baseballs Winter Meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Boras called the former home of the Expos a "tremendous environment" for baseball. . The injury bothered Bledsoe in the Suns victory over the Clippers on Monday and he sat out the teams home loss to Memphis on Thursday night. . -- Nathan Pancel scored twice as the Sudbury Wolves defeated the North Bay Battalion 4-2 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. SUNRISE, Fla. -- When the New York Islanders visit the Florida Panthers on Saturday night at the BB&T Center, it will be a rematch of last seasons first-round playoff series.The Islanders won that series in six games, extinguishing a Panthers season that had seen Florida claim the Atlantic Division for the first time after winning a franchise-record 47 games.Both teams topped 100 points last season. Both entered this season as Stanley Cup contenders with odds floating between 21-1 (Panthers) and 23-1 (Islanders).But so far this season, neither team is doing very well. Florida (6-7-1) is in last place in the Atlantic. New York (5-7-2) is next-to-last in the Metropolitan Division.There are 16 teams in the Eastern Conference, all battling for eight playoff spots, and the Panthers and Islanders are each digging themselves a hole.After losing a home game 4-2 to the San Jose Sharks on Thursday, Florida coach Gerard Gallant intimated that his team is close to regaining its 2015-2016 form.I like the way weve played most of our games, Gallant said. But if you look at the San Jose game, three mistakes, and they are in the back of our net.The fourth Sharks goal was an empty-netter, but the message was clear: The Panthers need to focus for the full 60 minutes and beyond in case of overtime.Florida did get some help on the injury front on Thursday with the return of left winger Jussi Jokinen. Center Nick Bjugstad should return next week.The Panthers are expected to start Roberto Luongo in goal against New York. Backup James Reimer, who took the loss against the Sharks on Thursday, started three of the past six games -- a heavier work load than expected.Meanwhile, the Islanders never led in Thursdays 4-1 loss at the Tampa Bay Lightning. New York fell behind 3-0 before Andrew Ladd scored the only goal for New York, which was penaalized six times and beaten twice on Lightning power plays.dddddddddddd.We thought we created some chances and did some good things 5-on-5, Ladd told the media on Thursday. But it is tough when you are in the penalty box all night.Only five NHL teams have committed more penalties than the Islanders entering Friday. The Islanders have committed 68 penalties this season. The Panthers, by contrast, have been caught just 52 times. Only four teams have less penalty minutes per game than the Panthers.Besides the concern on penalties, the Islanders are also dealing with another ugly trend -- they are 0-4-0 on the road this season.Jaroslav Halak started in goal for New York on THursday but was pulled after making only 13 saves on 16 shots on goal. Goalie Thomas Greiss entered the game at 2:50 in the second period and allowed only one goal the rest of the way.Islanders coach Jack Capuano and star center John Tavares are both concerned with the penalties, especially since New York had just one power play on its side on Thursday.There were a couple of calls that were real questionable, Capuano said. We played pretty tough 5-on-5. We have to find a way to kill penalties.Unfortunately for the Islanders, only three teams are having less success than New York on the penalty kill. The Islanders are tied for 26th place with a 75.9 percentage.Tavares and other Islanders made the point that when so many penalties are called, it puts New Yorks penalty-killers on the ice for extended periods. Some of the skilled scorers who are not on the PK units can get cold and out of sorts.Its no secret, Tavares said. The amount of penalties were taking is putting us in a tough spot to climb out of holes and into games. ' ' '
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