Charlie Nicholas' predictions for England and Scotland

Gareth Southgate's England are up against it as they visit 2014 World Cup winners Germany, while Scotland host Canada ahead of their must-win qualifier with Slovenia.

Here's what Charlie is predicting for the two clashes ...  

England v Germany (Wednesday 1945 GMT) 

I'm a little bit confused by Gareth Southgate's squad selection, but I guess it's because of the lack of choices he's got. 

You could make a case for Andy Carroll or Jack Wilshere to be in there, but James Ward-Prowse, really? I guess he wants to have a look at some players, but surely you have to make real a merit out of call-ups rather than just handing them out.  

I know Theo Walcott didn't play well at the weekend but he's got a decent goalscoring record compared to others in the squad and you don't just drop players because you know what they offer. 

I'm interested to see what Southgate is going to do up front. I think he's got to play two up there because a lone striker is going to struggle to have any joy, even with Dele Alli in support. 

I fear he'll play Jermain Defoe (pictured) up front on his own because he's proved at Sunderland that he doesn't need to see a lot of the ball, but that's not fair on the lad, having to feed off scraps again for his country in his big chance. 

It will be quite a difficult situation for the England strikers and it will be very hard work. It could be a night which will leave England fans wondering what direction they're going in under Southgate.  

I wonder whether Mesut Ozil will get himself fit and be up for proving his worth. He's sort of damaged goods after his performance against Bayern and maybe this will be a way to show himself. 

I think this will be feisty and I'd expect plenty of bookings and Thomas Muller, who looks like he's back in the goals after a pretty poor season, to do the damage again. 

Charlie predicts: 2-0 and Thomas Muller to score first - 25/1 with Sky Bet  

Scotland v Canada (Wednesday 1945 GMT, live on Sky Sports 1HD) 

Well there might not seem much purpose in this match for some, maybe even for Canada, but this is actually an incredibly important game for Scotland and a must-win in some senses. 

This is a build-up fixture for an enormous game with Slovania, which really is a must win, and the team simply must get the fans back on side because otherwise it could turn really toxic. 

Gordon Strachan should have walked away after the England defeat. The crowd don't believe him and, as mad they are with their songs, you have to find humour in this sort of situation because otherwise you'll go mad.  

You don't need to play Scott Brown, let's get players on the ball who are going to be a bit more expressive and entertain the fans. I'd like to see Ryan Fraser involved as well, he looks a decent little prospect.

I'm backing Scotland to win because they have to, although I do think both teams to score, but hopefully there will be plenty of young fans there and they'll get some entertainment. 

Charlie predicts: Ryan Fraser to score and Scotland to win - 7/2 with Sky Bet