England, Tottenham and Arsenal Q&A LIVE: Will Cole Palmer be handed his Three Lions debut this week? Is Douglas Luiz a realistic target? Sami Mokbel answers your questions

SAMI MOKBEL: Arsenal will be there or thereabouts. There’s too much quality in the starting XI for them not to run Man City all the way.

But injuries and suspensions will be key here. With injuries to Martin Odegaard and Thomas Partey in recent weeks, midfield resources have been stretched.

If either William Saliba or Gabriel Magalhaes were to miss a stretch, you’d worry for Arsenal.

If they can keep their best players on the pitch then they’ll run Man City very close.

SAMI MOKBEL: Southgate isn’t one to just hadn’t out instant debuts. He prefers to give new players time to settle in before giving them extensive time on the field.

With that in mind, don’t expect the new trio to start either against Malta on Friday or North Macedonia on Monday.

That said, with qualification already assured and England very likely to overcome both opposition – there maybe scope for debuts over the next five or six days. Palmer and Lewis, in particular, will capture the nation’s imagination.

Both prodigiously talented young footballers; Lewis’ versatility, in particular, suits tournament football ahead of next summer’s Euros.

Southgate is targeting finishing top of the qualification group and will play strong teams in both matches. But depending on how the games develop there will hopefully be an opportunity for Southgate to blood his new-boys.

SAMI MOKBEL: Raheem Sterling’s continued absence is an issue that isn’t going away. His form is much improved, personally I thought he was excellent against Man City on Sunday night.

But look at it from Gareth Southgate’s point of view – who is he supposed to leave out? The competition for places in those wide attacking areas is so fierce that if you miss one squad then you are at risk.

Of course, Sterling’s contribution to Southgate’s reign should probably mean he is afforded special treatment.

It’s clear that the England manager has been lenient with Harry Maguire and Kalvin Phillips in recent months. It’s tempting to point to Sterling’s decision to fly back to England during the World Cup when his house was burgled as a potential factor here.

But Southgate has continued to publicly insist the Sterling’s quick return home to comfort his family is not an issue.

The fact he hasn’t featured in a squad since merely adds fuel to the rumours. Many will say Sterling should have been called-up instead of Cole Palmer following the withdrawal of James Maddison last week.

But Southgate will have too much respect for Sterling to effectively call him up as a replacement.

If Sterling’s performances continue to improve between now and March then, if Southgate is true to his word, he will have a very good chance of a recall. But until then, the questions will keep coming.

Feel free to comment down below or contact Sami through his social channels, which you can find by clicking on the title of this post above!

Gareth Southgate‘s men are busy at work preparing for the Euro qualifier against Malta on Friday night.

New boys Rico Lewis and Cole Palmer can be seen in the viral video showcasing their quick passing skills.

Sami will be with us from 1pm until 2pm to answer your questions.

There’s still time to get them in and you can do so in the comments below or on our social channels

And welcome to the latest edition of our Premier League Q+A with our experts.

The focus of this live blog will be on England, Arsenal and Tottenham but we’ll also have Q+A sessions with reporters on Man United and Aston Villa later this afternoon so make sure you tune in for those.