England v Switzerland in Group G of Euro Qualifying

England (and their fans) will be expecting a repeat performance after they picked up three points and a win against the Swiss earlier in the campaign. Goals from Wayne Rooney, Adam Johnson and Darren Bent gave the Three Lions a 3-1 victory away to the Cuckoo Clockmakers in Basle last September. 

England, were the surprise absentees from the last Euro tournament (EURO 2008) and their supporters won’t settle for a similar failure to qualify this time round. So far so good, as under Fabio “Don” Capello, England  are bossing their qualification group, sitting pretty on top of the table, although they are only ahead of second place Montenegro due to their superior goal difference (as both sides have 10 points after 4 games). 

Before England’s fans get filled with the spirit of 1966 (England’s last trophy, where they beat arch enemies Germany - who have their own duel with Austria) it’s worth remembering that theirs is the only group that does not feature a former European Championship winner, so the English squad haven’t faced overly tough opposition.

The final tournament will be hosted by Poland and Ukraine between 8 June and 1 July 2012, so there’s still a way to go yet , but England shouldn’t have too much of a problem with the Swiss on the way. If want to bet on soccer and you fancy a high return on your money and think that the (traditionally neutral) Swiss will show their vicious side and shake up the home side, then you can get 15/2 with bet365 or 8/1 with 888sport on an away win.

Switzerland, where tipped to be one of England's main rivals for qualification from the group, this year. However out of their four games they have only managed one victory; a 4-1 humbling of the Welsh Dragons. But now they know that they need at least a draw, so they could make it a night to remember. A draw is at 10/3. 

Making up the numbers

Switzerland are joined in mid-table mediocrity with Bulgaria. They sit in third and fourth place, and both will be worried about progressing to the next round. When these teams faced off last Saturday neither managed a goal in a 0-0 draw, which failed do do either side much good.

There aren’t over exciting soccer odds on the total goals scored, as over 2.5 goals is just 4/5 while under is 10/11.  The best picks for this match are picking the right score, 1-0 to England is at 5/1 and 1-0 to Switzerland is at 18/1. The most tempting betting odds are on a Swiss win, 2-0 is at a whopping 40/1 but as is so often the case; those odds are high for a reason. I don’t see England NOT scoring and I’d be surprised if the Swiss get enough of the ball to score more than one. A 3-1 victory is a slightly more realistic bet that’s at tempting 11/1.

There’s some bad injury news for the Swiss chocolatiers as their influential midfielder Valentin Stocker (currently on the books for FC Basel) looks likely to be out of action for eight months following knee surgery. England will be without one of their Basel goalscorers, as Manchester United’s striker Wayne Rooney will be missing the match through suspension. With Rooney out England will be expecting goals from Bobby Zamora, Darren Bent, Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe. If the England winning odds don’t float your boat you can get some decent odds on the goalscorers, and I expect there to be plenty.

For the Swiss check out Innocent Emeghara, Admir Mehmedi and Granit Xhaka. They are the new faces in the Switzerland squad, and their country really needs them, since Switzerland’s prolific strikers Alexander Frei and Marco Streller ended their international careers recently.  Emeghara, 22, and Mehmedi, 20, may find themselves thrust into action up front, with coach Ottmar Hitzfeld saying: "We are lacking strikers, so I had to call up really young ones to fill the gap." 

That should tell you plenty.

Prediction: A comfortable England win 2-0.