Sweden meet current Group E leaders, Slovakia at Krestovsky Stadium, Russia, in Euro 2020 as both teams look to continue their push to seal qualification ahead of their final group matches.
Victory for Sweden would see them go top of Group E until Saturday evening, whereas Slovakia can secure a top two group finish with a win
Team News
Dejan Kulusevski is set to return for Sweden after sitting out Monday’s goalless draw in Spain due to a positive Coronavirus test.
Mattias Svanberg could also be in contention after too missing Sweden’s opener for the same reason as Kulusevksi.
Mikael Lustig however is set to be rested after suffering a groin strain in Monday’s game.
Slovakia have no fresh injury concerns to report with a full squad in contention.
Stat Attack
- This is Sweden’s first meeting against Slovakia at a major tournament.
- Sweden are unbeaten in five previous meetings against Slovakia in all competitions (W3, D2).
- Slovakia are yet to defeat Sweden when playing as the ‘away’ team (D1, L3).
- Monday’s goalless draw against Spain marked the first time that Sweden have drawn a match in 18 games since October 2019, which coincidentally was also against Spain in a 1-1 home draw. .
- Milan Skriniar has scored in both of Slovakia’s 2-1 victories this year including Monday’s opening Group E clash against Poland.
Prediction
Sweden will be pleased with their goalless draw in Spain because they certainly dug in defensively as a pack whilst maintaining their 4-4-2 formation, which should certainly cause issues for Slovakia but they will need to be more clinical in their decision making when it comes to shooting.
Slovakia meanwhile certainly found themselves in a physical contest against Poland but just took their chances better, so I do expect them to come out and try and take the game to Sweden although this could very well become a tactical game if neither team break one another down early on.
On that note, I am expecting a tough game because Sweden are excellently organised and will cause Slovakia’s attack serious issues and likewise at the other end where finishing chances could be crucial.
Prediction: Sweden 1-1 Slovakia
Result: Sweden 1-0 Slovakia