Uefa Euro 2020 hits the weekend with another hat-trick of fixtures this Friday, building up to a barnstormer between England and Scotland at Wembley.
It’s all to play for in Group E as Slovakia, winners over Poland in their opener, are in St Petersburg to face a Sweden side that held Spain to a goalless draw in their first match.
We then head north to Glasgow as Croatia attempt to get off the mark at the second attempt against the Czech Republic.
Then it’s the Auld Enemy battle down in London, where the English would qualify for the knockouts with a game to spare if they can seal victory.
Group E: Sweden vs Slovakia
It’s all to play for in Group E at Euro 2020, as Sweden and Slovakia kick off the second round of fixtures in St Petersburg on Friday afternoon.
Both will be well pleased with their opening efforts in a tricky pool also containing Spain and Poland.
Milan Skriniar sealed a famous 2-1 victory for the Slovaks on Monday, rendering Karol Linetty’s equaliser null and void for the Poles following an early own goal from Wojciech Szczesny.
The Swedes, meanwhile, gritted their teeth to come away from Seville with a precious point, as their Spanish hosts found no way through the yellow wall.
Dejan Kulusevski and Mattias Svanberg could both boost the Scandinavian ranks following their respective recoveries on Covid-19.
Mickael Lustig could miss out after hobbling off on Monday night and don’t rule out further changes following a hefty defensive effort against the 2012 and 2008 champions.
Probable Sweden Starting XI: Robin Olsen, Emile Krafth, Victor Lindelof, Marcus Danielson, Ludwig Augustinsson, Viktor Claesson, Sebastian Larsson, Kristoffer Olsson, Emil Forsberg, Alexander Isak, Marcus Berg.
Probable Slovakia Starting XI: Martin Dubravka, Peter Pekarik, Lubomir Satka, Milan Skriniar, Tomas Hubocan, Patrik Hrosovsky, Lukas Haraslin, Juraj Kucka, Marek Hamsik, Robert Mak, Ondrej Duda.
Group D: Croatia vs Czech Republic
Croatia and the Czech Republic come to the crunch in Group D at Euro 2020 when they meet in Glasgow on Friday evening.
And it’s the 2018 World Cup finalists who are on the back foot at Hampden Park, having slipped to an opening defeat against an England side they saw off en route to their runners-up finish three years ago.
Not this time, as Raheem Sterling scored the only goal for a largely dominant English team on home turf at Wembley, as Luka Modric and Co were barely given a sniff.
It’s a source of great hope for the Czechs, who have already won on this ground having beaten hosts Scotland 2-0 on Monday afternoon.
Patrik Schick was the hero, heading in the opener before launching an amazing strike from the halfway line the other side of half time, putting the game beyond doubt and his side top of the pool.
Bruno Petkovic could be hailed to add some pep to the Croatian attack, while Nikola Vlasic and Borna Barisic could both be fit enough for starting places.
Their opponents could well remain unchanged after a promising opening fixture and no major injury concerns to report.
Probable Croatia Starting XI: Dominik Livakovic, Sime Vrsaljko, Domagoj Vida, Duje Caleta-Car, Borna Barisic, Luka Modric, Marcelo Brozovic, Ante Rebic, Nikola Vlasic, Ivan Perisic, Bruno Petkovic.
Probable Czech Republic Starting XI: Tomas Vaslik, Vladimir Coufal, Ondrej Celustka, Tomas Kalas, Jan Boril, Tomas Soucek, Alex Kral, Lukas Masopust, Vladimir Darida, Jakub Jankto, Patrik Schick.
Group D: England vs Scotland
England and Scotland collide for a blockbuster derby under the Wembley lights at Euro 2020 on Friday night.
It’s prime time entertainment from Group D as the Auld Enemy meet, as well as a chance for the hosts to seal their last 16 berth with a game to spare.
Revenge was the order of the day last Sunday, as Raheem Sterling’s second half goal proved enough for the Three Lions to see off a Croatia side that knocked them out at the semi-final stage of the 2018 World Cup.
Steve Clarke’s Scots have it all to do, though, having slipped to a 2-0 defeat to the Czech Republic at their Hampden Park HQ in Glasgow.
Kieran Trippier may switch to his usual right back spot for the English here, which would allow Manchester United’s Luke Shaw to come in on the left.
His United team-mate Harry Maguire is also nearing a return to full fitness, with coach Gareth Southgate unlikely to fiddle with much more beyond that.
The visitors are itching to add the English Premier League experience of Kieran Tierney back into their side, but the Arsenal man remains touch-and-go for their London date.
Che Adams could start up front, while there may also be a recall for James Forrest out wide.
Probable England Starting XI: Jordan Pickford, Kieran Trippier, John Stones, Tyrone Mings, Luke Shaw, Declan Rice, Kalvin Phillips, Raheem Sterling, Mason Mount, Phil Foden, Harry Kane.
Probable Scotland Starting XI: David Marshall, Jack Hendry, Grant Hanley, Kieran Tierney, James Forrest, John McGinn, Scott McTominay, Stuart Armstrong, Andy Robertson, Lyndon Dykes, Che Adams.
Euro 2020 predictions for 18 June
Prediction methodology explained:?The expected win percentage is based off publicly available odds. For example, if a team’s odds are 2.30, the expected chance of winning is 43%. If the odds are 1.62 the expected chance of winning is 62% and so on. These are accurate at the time of writing but are subject to change. Where there is no value listed, the odds were not available at the time of writing.
