England vs Sri Lanka Prediction: Sri Lanka recent head-to-head record against England is not good

England and Sri Lanka are going head to head in Match 1 of the Test Series at Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester, United Kingdom on 21st August 2024. Sri Lanka has a very bad recent head-to-head record against England in tests. Who will be victorious in this cricket game?

England form

The England team heads into this opening Test of the series quite positive, with no captain Ben Stokes and regular opener Zak Crawley. How they deal with that will be most interesting as there is less experience than in years gone by due to key player absences. Dan Lawrence will look to take cue from Crawley's positivity against the Sri Lankan bowlers as the regular stroke makers in the team maintain their quick-fire tempo along with opener Ben Duckett. The inexperienced captains Ollie Pope and Joe Root look to bring some solidity to the batting lineup. Keeper-batter Jamie Smith and Chris Woakes can potentially make for a long tail for England. In-form Mark Wood against the West Indians and the arrival of Matthew Potts further bolsters this bowling attack.  

Predicted Lineup for England

Dan Lawrence, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope- c, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith-wk, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir

Sri Lanka form

This is going to be the return of Sri Lanka to Test format cricket since the 192-run victory over Bangladesh in early April, securing their third consecutive Test win. The victories have come at a fair distance, providing a lot of confidence. Though changes in the coaching staff come as well - former England coach Chris Silverwood moving on - it will be interim coach Sanath Jayasuriya and consultant Ian Bell that come into the team.

The batting line-up has experienced players in the form of Dimuth Karunaratne, Pathum Nissanka, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, and captain Dhananjaya de Silva. However, even for these lot of experienced players, the job of negotiating England's incisive pace attack under swing bowling conditions is going to be a challenge of another level. For Prabath Jayasuriya, this 32-year-old left-arm spinner, the series opens an opportunity for him to pocket winning performances in Test cricket, having already bagged 71 wickets in 12 games.

Sri Lanka Predicted Lineup

Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal. Dhananjaya de Silva, Kamindu Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Asitha Fernando

England vs Sri Lanka Expert Tips & Prediction

On the back of some great form shown in their recent series against West Indies, England should continue that form into this match against Sri Lanka, even in the absence of Ben Stokes. Our prediction is an English victory in Manchester. Our tip goes to England for the win.