3 reasons Kane will shine for England at Hampden this weekend

While Harry Kane is likely to make his first senior England appearance during Gareth Southgate’s tenure this weekend, the Tottenham Hotspur striker was one of the key men in the Three Lions boss’ successful tenure as Under-21 manager.

And as the pair head into this weekend’s clash with Scotland at Hampden Park, everything suggests the Spurs ace will play a huge part for the visitors. That’s because…

He’s in scintillating form right now

It’s hard to overstate just how good Harry Kane’s end to the Premier League campaign was. The 23-year-old scored nine goals in his final five games of the season – with a pair of high-scoring hauls and strikes in two huge clashes.

There’s every reason to believe he’ll thrive in the cauldron atmosphere of this famous fixture, having netted the winners against Arsenal and – in Spurs’ final White Hart Lane game – Manchester United.

He then closed off the club season by netting four goals against Leicester City and a hat-trick at the KCOM Stadium. If he can maintain that level of performance, he could well embarrass the Scots on Saturday.

He’s an ideal fit for Southgate’s style

As they proved in the 3-0 reverse at Wembley, Southgate’s England are a young side keen to use their pace to devastating effect, and with a focus on aerial prowess – all three goals diverted in from crosses (or in one case, a wayward shot).

That should suit Kane, whose aerial ability and instinctive finishing remain the strongest areas of his game. Having also played a number of games under the 46-year-old during his Under-21 tenure – where he netted eight goals in 14 games – the forward knows exactly how to excel under Southgate.

Scotland’s defence can be exploited

While Gordon Strachan’s men have some real quality in attacking areas, they’ve looked shaky at times in defence, with the centre-back pairing of Charlie Mulgrew and Russell Martin also not the quickest.

Things may be a little tougher for the Three Lions at Hampden, but they had little trouble in the 3-0 victory at Wembley back in November, with Southgate’s charges threatening every time they attacked in that game.

In the match betting, England are 7/10 favourites for victory, though the 21/20 for the Three Lions to score 2+ Goals could offer the best value.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing