Switzerland play England at Basel’s St Jakob-Park and the home side will very much feel they can push the Three Lions all the way when it comes to topping the group on the road to Euro 2016 in France.
Switzerland are currently ranked ninth by FIFA, with Roy Hodgson’s team way down in 20th and in truth, for once, those rankings seem about right. England lack cohesion, ability on the ball, class in central midfield and a clear method of playing. Moreover, they have some injuries to contend with too and an almost total lack of confidence and belief. As such it is no surprise to see them ranked as outsiders here at odds of 15/8 with Sky Bet. The bookies see little between the teams, with the hosts at 7/4 (Betfred) and the draw at 11/5 with Bet365 and whilst we definitely could see any of the three results, on balance we have to favour the Swiss.
At the World Cup they looked dangerous in attack, scoring two or more in all three group games before giving finalists Argentina a real scare in the second round, eventually losing 1-0 after extra time. In contrast England looked hapless, scoring just two goals in the tournament, despite the supposed prowess of their attacking players.
Moreover, Switzerland’s record in qualification for Brazil was also impressive, with seven wins and three draws part of the reason they were seeded for the tournament. Many of their players play at top German, Italian and French sides and their talisman, Bayern Munich’s
Xherdan Shaqiri, is a real star. How England’s inexperienced defence handles him remains to be seen but we fail to see how Joe Hart will keep a clean sheet and the home win is certainly great value here.
Hodgson will hope that Sterling’s pace will trouble the Swiss but the fact that England pin so much hope on one young player says a lot and whilst the Liverpool forward may score, we fear it will be little more than a consolation.
Switzerland v England Betting Tips
- Switzerland to win – The home side are priced at odds of 7/4 with Betfred and that looks like very solid value indeed given how poor the Three Lions looked against Norway on home soil. They look shaky at the back and lightweight in midfield and whilst they will trouble the Swiss defence we expect a home win.
- Both teams to score and Switzerland to win – As said, England can hurt teams with the pace of Sterling and finishing of Wayne Rooney and Daniel Sturridge, so throwing BTTS into the equation and sticking with the Swiss victory looks a nice option at 11/2 with Sky Bet.
- Switzerland to win 2-1 – 2-1 can be backed at odds of 11/1 with Coral and for correct score fans that has to be worth a pop on a night that Hodgson may wish to forget.