Harry Kane scores first goals of the season
Ryan Bertrand and Danny Welbeck also net for England
Gareth Southgate's side retain two-point lead in Group F
Josh Magennis scores twice for Northern Ireland
Steven Davis scores their third from the penalty spot
Northern Ireland remain second in Group C
Malta v England (19:45 BST)
Gary Flintoff
BBC Radio 5 live in Malta
It could be a big night for Sam Magri. His mum, dad, girlfriend and all his family are here to watch him. Magri plays for Ebbsfleet United but is also a Malta international. He played for England's under-age sides alongside Raheem Sterling and Nathaniel Chalobah. He could be on the same pitch as them this evening.
San Marino v Northern Ireland (19:45 BST)
Jonny Evans starts for Northern Ireland after recovering from the injury which kept him out of recent West Brom games.
He's partnered at centre-back by 107-cap Aaron Hughes, with Gareth McAuley and Craig Cathcart both out.
Some of the pre-match chat was about who out of Josh Magennis, Conor Washington and Kyle Lafferty would start up front. Well Michael O'Neill has picked all three.
Full line-ups to follow.
Malta v England (19:45 BST)
John Murray
BBC football correspondent in Malta
People may say why is Jordan Henderson captain? Why not stick with Harry Kane, who scored three goals in the two matches when he had the arm-band at the end of last season?
Well, in the match that followed what turned out to be Wayne Rooney's final international appearance last autumn, Gareth Southgate chose Henderson as his captain for the November friendly against Spain and the Liverpool captain hasn't played for England since.
While Southgate said he wants to spread the responsibility of the captaincy around the team, this makes it look like Henderson is his first choice.
Image source, Getty ImagesMalta v England (19:45 BST)
Image source, Getty ImagesThis game marks the start of the post-Wayne Rooney era after the Everton forward announced his decision to retire last month.
His retirement means the captain's armband is being shared around the England camp and tonight it is Jordan Henderson's turn to lead his country.
Meanwhile, Manchester United defender Phil Jones makes his first competitive start since October 2015 while new Liverpool signing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain also starts.
Malta XI: Hogg, Steve Borg, Zach Muscat, Agius, Magri, Zerafa, Pisani, Kristensen, Ryan Fenech, Farrugia, Schembri.
Subs: Bonello, Alex Muscat, Failla, Paul Fenech, Mifsud, Gambin, Clyde Borg, Ryan Camilleri, Johnson.
England XI: Hart, Jones, Bertrand, Walker, Cahill, Sterling, Livermore, Alli, Henderson, Kane, Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Subs: Butland, Smalling, Cresswell, Keane, Stones, Chalobah, Defoe, Sturridge, Welbeck, Vardy, Rashford, Heaton.
Referee: Artur Soraes Dias (Portugal)
Malta v England (19:45 BST)
Andy Townsend
Ex-Republic of Ireland international on BBC Radio 5 live
Now is the time to play somebody with more presence than Joe Hart in goal for England. Gareth Southgate has decided to stick with the experienced player but I don't think he's the best goalkeeper.
Malta v England (19:45 BST)
BBC Radio 5 live
John Murray is joined in the commentary box by former England captain Terry Butcher. Tune in from 19:00 BST.
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Talking to myself is never a good look, so my colleagues tell me, so this is also your platform to air your views on all things England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
Agree that Joe Hart is England's best goalkeeper? Do you think Scotland will qualify for the World Cup?
Let us know your thoughts via #bbcfootball, text in on 81111 (UK only) or post a comment on the Match of the Day Facebook page.
Malta v England (19:45 BST)
Image source, Getty ImagesJoe Hart starts in goal for England tonight.
The Manchester City goalkeeper hasn't had the best of starts to his loan spell at West Ham, conceding 10 goals in just three games, but Gareth Southgate is not worried about his Premier League form.
"I believe he's our best goalkeeper at the moment," said the England boss. "I wanted to see how he would respond because he has had a difficult start to the season with his club.
"We're only three matches into the start of the season, so I don't feel as though the others have had time to stake a claim to push Joe out of that position."
Malta v England (19:45 BST)
Gary Flintoff
BBC Radio 5 live in Malta
It has been a red hot day in Malta. Not many games sell out at the Ta' Qali National Stadium but England are a massive draw for Malta football fans. There are stories of tickets selling on eBay for three or four times their value... at least!
The stadium is quite remote so a lot of England fans have only just started to arrive, but they are here in good numbers.
San Marino v Northern Ireland (19:45 BST)
Northern Ireland know two wins this week and they can probably start planning for a World Cup play-off.
A win tonight, as expected, away to San Marino - and then another at home to the Czech Republic on Monday would take them to 19 points.
Only Azerbaijan could catch them at that stage - and they would have to win their four remaining games, with NI losing their last two and a big swing in goal difference.
If Azerbaijan don't win in Norway tonight, then NI can fully seal second spot on Monday.
The worst second place team don't reach the play-offs at all, but NI are looking in decent shape in that mini-table at the moment.
Lithuania v Scotland (19:45 BST)
Tom English
Chief sports writer, BBC Scotland
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Scotland played Lithuania back in October last year, the sweaty 1-1 draw at Hampden. Ten changes to that team tonight. Andrew Robertson is the only survivor. The chosen ones then were Marshall - Paterson, Martin, Hanley, Robertson - Fletcher, Bannan, Ritchie, Snodgrass, Burke - Martin.
Lithuania v Scotland (19:45 BST)
It's a massive game for Scotland tonight against Lithuania and our colleagues at BBC Sport Scotland are overseeing that one.
It's been a couple of months since our last lot of World Cup qualifiers so here's a reminder of how the groups involving England, Scotland and Northern Ireland are shaping up.
England are currently top of Group F and wins against Malta and then Slovakia at Wembley next week will put them on the brink of qualification.
Scotland, meanwhile, are fourth and most likely will need to win their next two matches against Lithuania and Malta as a minimum to keep alive their hopes of qualifying.
Image source, Getty ImagesNorthern Ireland are well placed to finish as runners-up in Group C but cannot afford to slip up against San Marino, who are pointless after six games.
Image source, .Malta v England (19:45 BST)
No messing about. We are straight in with some team news for England as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain celebrates his deadline day move from Arsenal to Liverpool with a start. As expected, Joe Hart is in goal.
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Image source, Getty ImagesThat's not the actual road to Russia, by the way, that's the road to Moscow in Scotland, but it's the only picture I could find at short notice, so it will have to do.
Anyhoo on with the show.
All four Home Nations are in World Cup 2018 qualifying action this weekend, with three of them playing tonight.
Here's what's coming up:
Lithuania v Scotland (19:45 BST)
Malta v England (19:45 BST)
San Marino v Northern Ireland (19:45 BST)
Saturday
Wales v Austria (19:45 BST)
Transfer deadline day. Madness isn't it? Reporters standing outside grounds in the pouring rain, players knocking about in airports like Tom Hanks in The Terminal waiting for some sort of move to materialise.
Well, thankfully, the last of this summer's £1.4bn outlay has been deposited into a bank account somewhere, the transfer window is shut and we can crack on with the important stuff - playing football.
We're back on the road to Russia.
Image source, Getty Images