The group stage of EURO 2020 is finally shaping up and we have a distinct image of who is going to qualify for the knockout stages and who will be sent back packing home. With that in mind the spotlight turns to the Gazprom Arena in Saint Petersburg is Russia as Sweden looks to win three points against Slovakia who have won their opening fixture and is looking to cement their place in the knockout stages in the second round of Group E fixture today
Sweden vs Slovakia Match Prediction
When the fixtures for Group E were set, the shadow of Spanish dominance was looming large over the group. It was expected that Spain would run away with the top spot of the group and the rest of the teams would scramble for the remaining knockout stage spot. However Spain’s toothless display in their opening fixture against Sweden has thrown the group wide open. Sweden put on a spirited show particularly from their goalkeeper Robin Olsen to garner a draw in their opening fixture while Slovakia were impressive in their outing against Poland as they managed to beat a 10 men Poland 2-1
Sweden vs Slovakia Match Details
Fixture: Sweden vs Slovakia
Date: 18th June (IST, CET, UTC)
Timings: 18:30 IST, 15:00 CET, 13:00 UTC
Venue: Gazprom Arena, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Previous Meeting between Sweden and Slovakia
Sweden have emerged as the undisputed superior side in previous clashes between these two sides. Sweden is unbeaten against Slovakia in all their previous five meetings with three wins and picking up two draws. The last time these two sides went head to head was back in October 2018 with the game settled by a 1-1 draw. Slovakia will definitely be hungry to pick up their first win against Sweden and consolidate their position at the top of the group.
Sweden vs Slovakia Prediction
Janne Andersson’s men put up a show of defensive resilience and a marvellous performance from the Robin Olsen between the Swedish sticks forced Spain to share the spoils with Sweden. Sweden come into the tournament with an unbeaten run of six games, their last defeat was a 4-2 loss to France in the UEFA Nations League and Sweden would be hoping to pick up from the positives of their last match. Sweden although are missing talismanic forward Zlatan Ibrahimhovic, who announced his return from retirement to play the EURO 2020 only to be ruled out by injury, are banking on Real Sociedad forward Alexander Isak for goals, who has been in fine form the last season for the Basque Club.
Slovakia on the other hand will look to pick up consecutive victory and seal their knockout stage spot, after having defeated a ten man Poland 2-1, with Inter Milan defender, Milan Skriniar with a top class finish scoring the winning goal.
Who will win Sweden vs Slovakia match?
Considering the history of the fixture and Sweden’s defensive master class against Spain, Sweden would look to shed their pragmatic approach and try nick a goal, so we are predicting a narrow 1-0 victory for Sweden as the Slovaks might find it difficult to break down an organized Swedish defence that features Manchester United’s Victor Lindelof amongst its rank.
FINAL PREDICTED SCORELINE: SWEDEN 1-0 SLOVAKIA
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