Beleaguered England to dismiss Swiss

It couldn't have gone much better for England on Friday night. A brilliant hat-trick from Jermain Defoe and great goal from new-boy Adam Johnson gave a lovely gloss to a competent performance against a very average Bulgarian side.

It won't be quite so easy for Fabio Capello's men tonight though, and Switzerland should prove a far trickier obstacle to negotiate.

Spain know only too well how hard it can be to break the Swiss down. The world champions couldn't get through the Swiss defence in their opening game and suffered a 1-0 defeat, as their World Cup winning campaign got off to the worst possible start.

The Swiss defence may be pretty solid, but their attack is nothing to be feared - even with England missing John Terry, Rio Ferdinand and Michael Dawson. The Swiss haven't scored more than one goal in a game in their last ten attempts

Switzerland haven't won a game when the opposition has scored since a 2-1 victory over Greece nearly two years ago, so if England find the net, chances are they will get something out of the game.

Obviously that will be easier said than done against a team that has only conceded one in their last five games, but with Jermain Defoe in fine international form and Wayne Rooney looking revitalised in his slightly deeper role, England should have enough to break them down.

Obviously a lot will depend on whether Rooney actually plays and - if he does - how mentally ready he is. But at [1.96], an England win looks to be well worth a punt.

Reckon we're right? Or will the Swiss heap more misery on Capello? Let us know below...

Published: 7 Sep 2010