Anyone that watched England’s friendly defeat in Germany this week (or Lukas Podolski’s testimonial), will be aching for the return of the Premier League.

Quite simply, the level of interest is not the same for the national side, particularly at a time where manager Gareth Southgate is having to field the likes of Michael Keane, Nathan Redmond and Jake Livermore. Strong club level performers no doubt, but these are not the sort of players you expect to drive England to World Cup glory in Russia next summer.

However, Sportito is doing its bit to appease the frustration felt by the average football fan during the international break, with a series of contests for this weekend’s World Cup qualifiers. For example, the “British Teams Strike Again” contest includes players from a predicted Wembley walkover for England against Lithuania, a Hampden Park humdinger for Scotland and Slovenia, and Northern Ireland’s crucial home match against Norway in Belfast.

For those of you building a Sportito side for this contest, look no further than England attacking players for the sharp end of your line up. The Three Lions hit seven goals in two qualifiers against Lithuania ahead of Euro 2016. Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling scored in the Wembley encounter in March 2015, and is expected to return to Southgate’s side after missing the match in Dortmund.

Sterling, who has returned 6.51 points per game (PPG) in 24 matches for City this season, should feature in a supporting trio with Adam Lallana and Dele Alli, behind Leicester’s number nine Jamie Vardy. However, if Southgate resists calls to restore the 4-2-3-1 formation, and instead chooses to retain the 3-4-3 deployed against Germany, Lallana would likely drop deeper to accommodate a front three of Sterling, Alli and Vardy.

30-year-old Vardy already has five England goals to his name, and will be approaching the match full of confidence after registering three goals and three assists since Craig Shakespeare took over at Leicester at the end of February. Meanwhile, Alli has 14 Premier League Goals this season, a record only bettered by Romelu Lukaku, Harry Kane, Alexis Sanchez, Diego Costa and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Of course, you can only have four players per team, and no more than two players from each team within a certain position, so we need to look elsewhere to fill up our selection. An obvious place to start is Northern Ireland’s set piece specialist, Chris Brunt.

Formerly a winger, West Brom’s Brunt (a defender on Sportito) registered a goal, assist and clean sheet in Northern Ireland’s last home match against Azerbaijan. He will line up in green alongside Baggies team mate Gareth McAuley. With six Premier League goals to his name in 2016/17, McAuley has averaged 9.25 points in four internationals this season on Sportito.

Given that Chris Martin and Steven Naismith, the likely Scottish striking duo for Gordon Strachan against Slovenia, have been far from prolific on the international stage, it might be worth taking a chance on Kyle Lafferty. The Norwich City striker has been in and out of Michael O’Neill’s side since before Euro 2016, but sits second in the all-time Northern Ireland goal-scoring charts with 20 goals only bettered by David Healy.

Next, we turn to the player to complete your three-man attack. Alongside Vardy and Lafferty, step forward Josh King. The in-form Bournemouth winger turned striker has yet to transform his club form onto the international scene, with just seven goals from 27 caps and a Sportito PPG of 6.83 for Norway this season. However, with 11 Premier League goals in 2016/17, including seven in his last six matches, King stands above the alternatives from Scotland, Lithuania and Slovenia.

A final mention for a Scottish playmaker who should link up with an English duo and one other in your final four-man midfield. West Ham’s Robert Snodgrass has averaged 88 minutes and 11.2 PPG in his last four Scotland matches, which included a hat-trick in the 5-1 win over Malta back in September.

The post A Sportito contest to brighten up the international break appeared first on Sportito Fantasy Sports Blog, Strategy, Picks, Tips and Advice.