England v Switzerland predictions: Three Lions can grind down stubborn Swiss

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Saturday's international friendly between England and Switzerland.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Football & Main Event, 5.30pm Saturday

Best bet

England to win & under 3.5 goals
1pt 6-5 BoyleSports

Team news

England
Reece James, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Tammy Abraham, Aaron Ramsdale and Sam Johnstone have pulled out of the squad with injuries and Bukayo Saka (illness) has also withdrawn. Southampton's Kyle Walker-Peters is set for a debut at right-back.

Switzerland
Goalkeepers Yann Sommer and Philipp Kohn are injured so Gregor Kobel is expected to start.

Match preview

Performances are more important than results in friendly internationals but Gareth Southgate's England have a habit of grinding out low-scoring wins in non-competitive fixtures.

The Three Lions have won nine and drawn one of their last ten friendlies, none of which has featured more than three goals.

One of those victories was a 1-0 win over Switzerland in September 2018 and England's latest clash with the Swiss could be a similarly tight contest.

The visitors to Wembley are unlikely to be intimidated by the Euro 2020 runners-up, having competed well with some of Europe's top footballing nations recently.

They knocked France out of last summer's European Championships, winning on penalties after a dramatic 3-3 draw, and took Spain to a shootout in the quarter-finals despite having Remo Freuler sent off in the 77th minute of normal time.

Switzerland showed similar grit in World Cup qualifying, conceding only twice in eight games to pip Italy to top spot in Group C, although they benefited from a Jorginho penalty miss in both their home and away draws with the European champions.

November's 1-1 draw in Rome helped condemn the Azzurri to a playoff against North Macedonia, who claimed a shock 1-0 win on Wednesday, so Southgate can expect a serious test for his side at Wembley.

The England manager's plans for the friendlies against Switzerland and Ivory Coast have been disrupted by several injury withdrawals, most notably Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, whose excellent Premier League form has made him a viable alternative to number-one Jordan Pickford.

With Reece James and Trent Alexander-Arnold injured, and Kyle Walker left out of the original squad, Southampton's Kyle Walker-Peters is set to make his debut at right-back although there will be more focus on the centre of England's defence.

Harry Maguire is having a tough campaign at Manchester United but Southgate maintains Maguire and John Stones are still the best centre-backs in the land and it is hard to pick holes in England's defensive record.

Pickford was beaten only twice in 690 minutes at Euro 2020 and since that tournament England have kept clean sheets in thumping World Cup qualifying wins over Hungary, Andorra (twice), Albania and San Marino.

They also drew 1-1 with Poland, who equalised in the 91st minute, and Hungary, who scored with their only shot on target, so another solid defensive display is expected.

Southgate has most of his first-choice attacking players available and, with a likely front three of Phil Foden, Harry Kane and Jack Grealish, England have the talent to grind out another of their trademark friendly wins.

Key stat

Switzerland kept six clean sheets in their last seven World Cup qualifiers.

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