WILL England maintain their 100% record in this qualifying group? Chris Graham (@chrisgraham79) looks at their next task at home to Switzerland.
England v Switzerland | Tuesday 19:45 | ITV1
England have been the masters of qualifying for most of this century (bar that Euro 2008 blip) and this group has simply hammered that message home further. Seven wins out of seven, 24 goals scored and just three conceded are impressive enough figures to have already booked their place at Euro 2016.
The Swiss had a solid World Cup and unlike England reached the knockout stages before going out in extra time to Argentina. There was a school of thought that they could finish above Roy Hodgson’s side in this group but that was killed off very early when Switzerland lost their opening two matches.
The 2-0 home defeat to England and 1-0 loss in Slovenia in September and October of last year respectively were damaging from a short-term point of view but matter little now. The Swiss won their next five games, are five clear of the third place side and have San Marino to come. They’ll be in France next summer.
Vladimir Petkovic’s side have been pretty impressive since those opening losses. Two 4-0 wins and a 3-0 victory were followed by a 2-1 win in Lithuania and a 3-2 home win over Slovenia on Saturday night. To be fair that victory was hardly straight-forward with the Swiss scoring three goals in the last 10 minutes of the match to salvage a win.
But what it shows is that they’re playing with abandon just now. 16 goals notched in five games and real determination to pick up as many points as possible.
I can see them scoring here and Both Teams To Score at odds against 23/20 with Coral certainly appeals. England haven’t lost a qualifier since 2009 and I expect that record to remain on Tuesday.
I’ll also have a small interest on the 2-2 scoreline at massive odds of 22/1 with 888 Sport. England conceded two against Slovenia in June and the last time the sides met in England it ended in that scoreline.
Best Bets
England v Switzerland – Both Teams To Score (23/20 Coral)
England v Switzerland – 2-2 Draw (22/1 888 Sport)
10/1 England To Win To Nil
P6 W6. England have been impressive in this group.
New customers to Coral can back them to win to nil against Switzerland at bumper odds of 10/1.
TOPICS English Football Tips Football International Football Tips
