Sweden vs Poland
Sweden vs Poland takes place in St Petersburg on June 23 as Group E of Euro2020 comes to a close. Sweden know that a win or a draw ensures that they will progress to the knockout rounds and even defeat is not necessarily the end of the world as they are guaranteed to finish in the top three. However, for Poland only a win will do if they want to avoid exiting at the group stages. Read on for more analysis, match predictions and betting tips.
Form
Despite having no Zlatan Ibrahimovic to call upon in this tournament, Sweden have done pretty well without setting things alight. They have picked up four points so far, but have only scored a single goal - and a penalty at that. On the other hand, Sweden are yet to concede a goal and that defensive miserliness might be what keeps them going. Janne Andersson’s side have conceded one goal this calendar year, and unlike England in Group C who have an identical group record, Sweden don’t have the tags as pre-tournament favourites.
Poland on the other hand have shown why many people see them as a one-man team. Robert Lewandowski made Ferran Torres pay for his boast that the Spanish centre-backs would eat the Bayern Munich striker with his equaliser last time out, but other than that Poland have offered nothing else. In two games they have had only five shots on target; against a team that knows a draw is enough and who doesn’t concede goals Poland could find it very hard.
Injuries
Swedish coach Janne Andersson has a full squad to choose from again, with Sweden picking up no injuries in their 1-0 win against Slovakia on Friday afternoon. That means that Alexander Isak and Marcus Berg are likely to continue up front despite not registering a goal between them, while penalty hero Emil Forsberg will continue on the left hand side.
Grzegorz Kyrchowiak is eligible to play against Sweden having missed the last game due to a one match suspension for two yellow cards in the opener. Whether he will be preferred to Brighton midfielder Jakub Moder remains to be seen. Teenage sensation Kacper Kozlowski could also come into contention after the 17-year-old Pogon Szczecin midfielder came on against Spain to break Jude Bellingham’s record as the youngest ever player to play in a European Championship finals.
Match Predictions
In the early 12X markets the bookies are struggling to call a winner, with Poland marginal favourites at odds of 2.50 or so while Sweden are available at 2.80. Bearing in mind recent results and the fact Poland have to travel back to St Petersburg from Spain it might be that those odds are generous. The bookies are not going for a goalfest, with under 2.5 goals at 1.6 and No as favourite in the BTTS market. We’re expecting a very tight game, and we think the draw might be the right betting tip at 3.30.
