Focus Fixture: Scott Thornton's 13/2 Bet Builder for England vs Switzerland

England take on Switzerland in the quarter-finals of Euro 2024 on Saturday. Gareth Southgate’s side have struggled in their four matches to this point so they will need to kick things up a notch to get past the Swiss.

The Form

The Three Lions had an almighty scare in the round of 16. They were just moments away from being dumped out of the competition by Slovakia but a superb overhead kick from Jude Bellingham in the final minute of injury time bought England another 30 minutes to avoid penalties. It didn’t take long for Harry Kane to find the decisive goal, the captain found the next in the first minute of extra time to ensure England made it to the last eight.

England remain the favourites to go on and lift the trophy but that is largely thanks to draw. Southgate’s team will dodge many of the European heavyweights on their way to the final. Nevertheless, there is plenty of work to be done before then.

Switzerland will be quietly confident heading into this match. They beat the Italians in the round of 16. Italy were the reigning champions having beaten England in the final of Euro 2021. Murat Yakin’s won 2-0 and starved their opponents of chances prior to them going two goals ahead. They came under pressure in the latter stages but never looked like wilting. 

The Swiss are no strangers to knocking out the tournament favourites. They eliminated France from the last European Championships via the penalty shootout after drawing 3-3. 

The Runners and Riders

England’s uninspired performances to this point have seemingly prompted Gareth Southgate to make a change. The team had lined up in a 4-2-3-1 but they are expected to play with three centre-backs in this game, with the wing-backs providing the width. This will give both Foden and Bellingham to play in their preferred position. Luke Shaw could also be in line to start having missed the first four games with Trent Alexander-Arnold playing as the other wing-back. 

Wholesale changes aren’t necessary for Switzerland. They were moments away from beating Germany in their final group game and they followed that up with a tremendous performance against Italy. Aknaji and Ricardo Rodriguez will be vital in defence. They will also be hoping that Ruben Vargas can follow up his excellent performance against Italy with another good display.

What They Said

Gareth Southgate praised his team's spirit after the win over Slovakia, saying "So that's the spirit that they have and they've shown it and it's that that's got us over the line today." The England boss also admitted that the meeting with Switzerland will present a new set of challenges. The under-pressure boss said, "I think that the game against the Swiss will throw completely different tactical problems just as difficult just as complex.”

Murat Yakin was immensely proud after overseeing Switzerland’s first win over Italy since 1993. He said “The team deserved this evening after a great display of football. We took charge of the game and dominated. Our opponents barely had a shot on goal. We won against a top side tonight."

Selection

England may not have been at their best at this tournament but there are plenty of technically gifted players in their ranks. As a result, they have forced the joint most fouls per game with an average of 14. 

The central midfield players who have started against England in this tournament have combined for a total of 13 fouls. Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden have been fouled a total of 13 times at Euro 2024 so the Swiss midfield will be busy here. Southgate’s apparent decision to alter the team’s formation and play with four central midfield players should compound that issue.

We have singled out Remo Freuler as the man to make the fouls. He has committed nine at the tournament thus far, only three players have made more. This works out as 2.4 fouls per 90 minutes he has played.

The Bologna midfielder also made his fair share of fouls in Serie A last season, with an average of 1.5 per 90 minutes played. That number should increase as he squares off against England’s menacing midfield.

Recommended Bet: Over 1.5 fouls for Remo Freuler at 1.72

Bet Builder Tip

For our bet builder tip, we are backing Granit Xhaka to make at least two fouls as well as Remo Freuler. 

Granit Xhaka played in a more advanced role for Bayer Leverkusen last season so he made an average of one foul per 90 minutes played in the Bundesliga. However, he plays in a deeper role for Switzerland. He has made six fouls in this tournament so far, four of those came against Germany. Julian Nagelsmann’s side like to pack the middle of the park and this clash with England could play out in a similar.

Daniele Orsato is the referee for this one. He has already officiated one England game this tournament. The Italian awarded Southgate’s side 19 free kicks in that clash with Serbia so backing a few Switzerland fouls looks a good bet here.

Our other angle for this bet is both teams to score. Goals have been scarce in England matches so far but both teams have scored in two of the four. The Three Lions will be hoping that this is the game where their attack finally gels and there should be plenty of goals if it does. 

Both teams have scored in three of Switzerland’s four matches. Yakin’s side have scored an average of 1.75 goals per game, the joint third most at Euro 2024. 

Recommended Bet: Over 1.5 fouls for Remo Freuler, over 1.5 fouls for Granit Xhaka and both teams to score at 7.40