Pre-match stats: England MU21 v Slovakia

England men’s under-21s continue their UEFA U21 Euro qualifying campaign on Friday 2 October, as they face Slovakia at Stoke City’s bet365 Stadium.

Ahead of the game, take a look at the key facts and figures.

England have won their last five matches in all competitions against Slovakia since losing 2-0 at the 2000 UEFA Under-21 Championship finals.

This is the first meeting between England and Slovakia on English soil since a June 2007 friendly, won 5-0 by England thanks to goals from Kieran Richardson, Nigel Reo-Coker, Steven Taylor, Tom Huddlestone and Leroy Lita.

England have scored four goals in three of their last four matches (4-0 vs Slovakia, 4-1 vs Moldova, 4-2 vs Kazakhstan), including each of their last two. They have never scored four or more goals in three consecutive matches.

England have won 35 of their 45 matches under Lee Carsley (D3 L7), with that 78%-win ratio the best of any U21’s manager to take charge of five or more games. They’ve scored 2.7 goals per game, also the best ratio of any manager with 5+ games.

England goalkeeper James Beadle has made 17 appearances for the MU21s and could level James Trafford and Paul Gerrard on 18 caps in this game. The only goalkeepers with more are Jack Butland (31), Scott Carson (29) and Joe Hart (21).