Euro 2016 Qualifying: England vs Switzerland preview

September 7, 2015
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

England vs NorwayAfter the 6-0 hammering of San Marino ensured a place at the tournament finals, England now aim to end the qualifying campaign without a single defeat.

Switzerland, on the other hand, produced a stunning comeback to beat Slovenia and they, too, are in excellent position to qualify.

Rarely have England looked so convincing throughout a qualifying campaign and the fact they have clinched qualification with three games to go speaks volumes about team’s performances.

The Three Lions had not had such a difficult group to begin with, but beating the likes of Switzerland and Slovenia on the road has got to count for something.

Starting from this next qualifier, Roy Hodgson and his men will start preparations for the tournament finals, hoping to avoid another major disappointment at the biggest stage.

As expected, the boss rang changes for the San Marino game, with the likes of Stones, Vardy, Shelvey and Barkley given chance to impress, but he is expected to field a more experienced side for the Switzerland clash.

The Three Lions have been made 1.75 (3/4) favourites to make it eight wins in a row in the Euro 2016 qualifiers.

The likes of Fabian Delph, Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling and Theo Walcott are all pushing for starting places, while Michael Carrick has withdrawn due to injury.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Hart – Clyne, Cahill, Smalling, Gibbs – Shelvey, Delph – Walcott, Kane, Sterling – Rooney.

Switzerland had a pretty disappointing start to the qualifying campaign, losing to England and Slovenia in their first two matches, but a lot has changed since.

The Rossocrociati upped their game to win next four qualifiers and they headed into the Slovenia game three points clear in second place.

But, while Switzerland had the initiative, they conceded two cheap goals and looked to be heading for a disappointing defeat until the likes of Josip Drmic and Breel Embolo came on.

Vladimir Petkovic’s side finished the game in style by scoring three goals from the 80th minute and eventually got the win that they desperately needed.

Switzerland now need few more points to achieve automatic qualification and they can be backed at 2.15 (23/20) not to lose at Wembley.

There have been no reported selection problems for Vladimir Petkovic, who could bring Embolo and Drmic into his starting line-up.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Sommer – Lichtsteiner, Schar, Klose, Rodriguez – Behrami, Xhaka, Inler – Embolo, Drmic, Shaqiri.

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