When the groups for Euro 2012 qualifying were drawn up, it looked as though the main barrier between England and first place in Group G were going to be Switzerland, who had recently come off a World Cup campaign that included a win over eventual champions Spain. Four matches in, and Switzerland are already six points behind England (and, more surprisingly, six behind Montenegro), and now they must travel to Wembley Stadium to pick up three points in order to have much hope of qualifying. It's not going to happen.
England, frankly, are better than Switzerland, even if the expectation is that they play a weak team thanks to the absences of Wayne Rooney and Andy Carroll up front, and to a lesser extent Michael Carrick in the midfield. We're probably going to see a 4-3-3 from England, with a back four of Ashley Cole, John Terry, Rio Ferdinand and Glen Johnson, while Scott Parker looks to continue his strong run by anchoring a trio alongside Frank Lampard and Jack Wilshere.
Up front we may well see an all-Aston Villa line, with Darren Bent the only true number nine available to Fabio Capello. Club teammate Ashley Young is almost certain to start, while Stewart Downing and Arsenal's Theo Walcott battle it out for the third spot. It's a potent forward line and will probably trouble Switzerland, who are going to hope that England mimic their last home qualifier (against Montenegro) and play out to a 0-0 draw.
They're certainly not scoring - both of their international forwards that have been used of late have retired, leaving them with zero recognised strikers and only Erin Derdiyok realistically capable of playing up front. That may well lead to the Swiss taking on a naturally defensive strategy, which probably suits them better anyway. However, they do need a win, which will be difficult if they play park the bus.
Having already beaten Switzerland away, Capello's side will be confident that they can get a result at Wembley on Saturday. With England playing a more sensible shape, there's no reason that that can't happen. If they get a goal early, this could be a big result.
Time: 4:45 PM GMT (11:45 AM EST), Saturday June 4th
Location: Wembley Stadium, London.
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