France and England will bring an end to their 2016-17 seasons on Tuesday when they meet in a glamour friendly at the Stade de France in Paris.

The match will see tributes made to the victims of the recent terrorist attacks in Manchester and London, evoking memories of the last time the two teams faced off just days after the Paris attacks in 2015.

France

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Tuesday's match will take place just over a year after France began their Euro 2016 campaign on home soil - a tournament which promised so much but was ultimately to end in heartbreak for Didier Deschamps's side when they were beaten in the final by Portugal.

Since then, Les Bleus have turned their attention to qualifying for next summer's World Cup in Russia, but it is not all going their way in Group A and they still have work to do if they are to book their place at the tournament.

France had been unbeaten and three points clear until Friday, when they knew a win over Sweden would put them a huge step closer to reaching Russia by taking a six-point lead over both the Swedes and Netherlands.

However, it was their most experienced player and captain that ultimately cost them that opportunity, with Hugo Lloris giving the ball away to Ola Toivonen in the third minute of stoppage time and allowing the former Sunderland man to score a dramatic winning goal into the empty net from inside his own half.

Olivier Giroud had earlier lit up what was - until that point - an uneventful match with a stunning strike of his own to make it six goals in his last three international starts, but Deschamps will know that France must improve if they are to even reach the World Cup, yet alone perform well in Russia.

There is no doubting the quality France possess at the moment, with their strength in depth being highlighted by the fact that PFA Player and FWA Footballer of the Year N'Golo Kante, AS Monaco wonderkid Kylian Mbappe and free-scoring Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette were only amongst a star-studded bench in Stockholm.

However, having responded to their Euro 2016 heartbreak with a seven-match unbeaten streak, France have since lost two of their last three games - as many defeats as they had suffered in their previous 24.

France have won 11 and lost just two of their last 14 friendly matches, though, with those defeats coming at the hands of Spain in March and England at Wembley in November 2015.

Such high-profile matches are certainly an effective way of tuning up for a major tournament, but for France the main concern now is regaining control of Group A when their qualifying campaign resumes at the end of August with home matches against Netherlands and Luxembourg.

Recent form: WDWLWL

England

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France were not alone in experiencing late drama during their World Cup qualifying duties at the weekend, with England playing out a thrilling finale to the latest chapter in their long rivalry with Scotland.

Gareth Southgate's side looked to be on course for victory through Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's goal heading into the final five minutes, but two quickfire free kicks from Scotland's Leigh Griffiths turned the game on its head and suddenly England were looking at the first defeat on their road to Russia.

It would have been a result which left England just a point clear of Slovakia at the top of Group F, but there was to be an even later twist as captain-for-the-day Harry Kane scored a 93rd-minute equaliser to rescue a draw for the Three Lions.

As a result, England remain in control of Group F, but with their lead over Slovakia having been cut to just two points they know that any more slip-ups could prove costly.

England's only remaining away trips are to Malta and Lithuania, though, and that - coupled with their formidable record at Wembley - means that the Three Lions are still overwhelming favourites to claim the only automatic qualifying spot for next summer's tournament.

Southgate's side will resume their campaign in Malta on September 1 before hosting Slovakia three days later, but first they must turn their attention to the type of friendly which has become a common theme for the team in recent years.

Since 2015, England have taken on Spain twice, Germany twice, France, Italy, and Portugal in friendlies - all teams currently sitting above them in the FIFA rankings. The Three Lions have lost just two of those seven games, and the hope is that they will stand them in good stead for the bigger matches in major tournaments.

Away from home, though, England are winless in their last three games and have only scored three in their last five - two of which came in Saturday's draw at Hampden Park. Failure to win on Tuesday will mark the first time they have gone four consecutive away games without a win since September 2004.

Recent form: DWDLWD

Team News

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Southgate has confirmed that under-fire goalkeeper Joe Hart will play no part in Tuesday's match, with Tom Heaton set to start the game and Jack Butland due to play the second half.

Hart was criticised for his role in both Scotland goals at Hampden Park, but Southgate insists that he never intended to play the Manchester City keeper in this match.

The England manager's desire to see some of the squad's fringe players in action could also mean senior debuts for Ben Gibson and Kieran Trippier, while Oxlade-Chamberlain will start again following his goal against Scotland.

Kane will lead the team out for the second match in a row, which is likely to mean another bench role for Jermain Defoe.

France are also expected to make changes from their defeat to Sweden, with the likes of Kante, Mbappe and Samuel Umtiti hopeful of a place in the starting XI.

Lloris is likely to retain the gloves despite his blunder in Stockholm, and the Tottenham Hotspur man would win his 90th France cap if that is the case.

France possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Sidibe, Umtiti, Koscielny, Mendy; Kante, Matuidi, Lemar, Griezmann, Payet; Mbappe

England possible starting lineup:
Heaton; Trippier, Stones, Jones, Cresswell; Dier, Livermore, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Lingard, Rashford; Kane

Head To Head

These two sides last met in November 2015 as Wembley paid tribute to the victims of the Paris terror attack just days after the incident occurred, with goals from Dele Alli and Wayne Rooney sealing a 2-0 win for the hosts on an emotional evening.

France will return the compliment this time around with a rendition of Oasis song 'Don't Look Back in Anger' before both sets of fans sing both national anthems as the hosts look to get back to the form which saw them go six games without defeat against England before that 2015 loss.

England's last victory over Les Bleus on French soil came at the Tournoi de France in June 1997, but they have not won in Paris since May 1949 when Billy Wright was amongst the scorers in a 3-1 triumph.

We say: France 2-1 England

Both managers are likely to experiment a little in their final game before the summer break, and that is when France's superior strength in depth could come into play. It should be a close contest, but we're backing France to come out on top in front of their own fans.

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