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After much talk and chatter, the UEFA Nationa League has got under way and already seen some interesting match-ups. England endured a chastising, reality-checking 2-1 defeat to Spain, and now welcome a Switzerland side who enjoyed an impressive FIFA World Cup campaign. Can England get back to winning ways against a Swiss side with a whole lot to prove?

England News

After enjoying a pretty decent starting point to their post-World Cup campaign, England soon returned to the same old story. A loss at home to Spain is never the worst, but it’s certainly not the best available result either.

With expected changes to come from the Spain match, we might expect to see England go a bit more out there with how they attack. A more offensive line-up is expected, with Marcus Rashford looking to really step it up following his goal against Spain on Saturday.

Switzerland News

Few results are more likely to get you in the mood for a big game than a 6-0 win – which the Swiss doled out to Iceland in stupendous fashion. After hammering the Icelandic side, Switzerland might go for a touch more continuity in a bid to really help them find that much-needed swagger.

The Swiss seemed a touch rocked after the loss to Sweden in the summer; they look to have recovered their self-belief in quite wonderful fashion. If they can pick a similar line-up to the last game, they should be able to cause England some problems.

Verdict

We can see this being a tight but enjoyable game, with England and Switzerland sharing the points. While we could see England getting a home win, they’ve struggled against teams like Switzerland for some time; that makes us think this could be a tight, tense yet enjoyable score draw.

With both teams picking up three wins from three, this is about as unlikely a ‘big game’ clash as you would expect in early season. Widely tipped to struggle to stay up and to make the top four again, both clubs have quickly put down a lot of the pre-season negativity revolving around their squads.

Spurs come into this one with a very impressive record against Watford, winning five of the last six games against the Hornets. Can they make it six out of seven?

 

Watford News

 

Playing in a rather interesting 4-2-2-2 formation, similar to old-school Brazilian teams, Watford are causing confusion with their style of play. The buzzy nature of Andre Grey appears to have revived Troy Deeney, while the creativity of Will Hughes and Roberto Pereyra is having a hugely positive impact on their attacking play.

Midfield duo Etienne Capoue – formerly of Spurs – and Abdoulaye Doucoure provide a shield for defensive duo Christian Kabasele and Craig Cathcart. Not much is expected to change from that tried and tested setup.

 

Spurs News

 

The same goes for Spurs with regards to selection: don’t expect much in the way of changes. Eric Dier and Mousa Dembele will continue to provide a midfield screen, while Dele Alli and Harry Kane play off one another to perfection.

Lucas Moura looks back to his Sao Paulo days, while the hugely impressive full-backs Kieran Trippier and Ben Davies provide width all-day long. Expect Spurs to stick to a similar line-up, especially with Erik Lamela and Victor Wanyama both missing out.

 

Verdict

A draw feels like a likely result; Spurs are excellent through the middle, but will find a congested Watford team harder to play through. They should pose a very interesting test for Spurs, though, with the physicality of Watford likely to outmatch their own strength. We can see this being a tight, congested but well-contested affair.

The time has finally come for Stoke City to stop dead in their mightily impressive tracks. The Potters done well to stay in the top flight for so long, and even managed to semi rebrand themselves under Mark Hughes. The Tony Pulis era brought stability with some pensive performances along the way, but the fan wanted more. With the money on offer, why not aim a bit higher in terms of player profile and aesthetics?

Sadly, the squad rebuild seemed to hit the wall. For each of the impressive signings like Xherdan Shaqiri, many more would shuffle through soon to vanish. Paul Lambert, the most recent coach to take the job in their doomed Premier League run, found a team with some very serious issues. They could make chances, yet failed to score them. They would concede chances, and goals, at key points in the matches and then the season. That’ll be hard to weed out in the short space of time between now and the new season beginning.

2018/19 Prediction

New coach Gary Rowett comes in after being another coach who was unable to bring Derby County past the finishing line and reach promotion. With a squad that needs a lot of change soon, and there’s not a great deal to say about the players who might stick around.
Stoke have a pretty strong structure bar the last 24-months or so, though, and could easily recover if they back Rowett in a mini revolution here.

A tough loss for England to face, but every nation and its players has a story. Good luck to the Croatia team against France!

In what should be a classic FIFA World Cup match, France will take on Belgium for a spot in the Final. As previous winners and with a generation perhaps equal in talent to the 1998 winners, France will feel this is their time to start a Germany-style dynasty. For Belgium, though, it’s time to capitalize on the greatest crop of youngsters they have ever produced – and what better way to make your point than knocking out Brazil and then France?

France News

The only worry for France is that Djibril Sidibe might miss out. He’s not played a great deal, though, and should not be a huge loss given the form of Benjamin Pavard. The Stuttgart man has had a tremendous breakout tournament, and is sure to take that next step to the highest level.

Blaise Matuidi is likely to reprise his unconventional left wing role, and should offer the energy needed – alongside N’Golo Kante – to press high. Belgium need to be aware of the options on the bench, too: if Kylian Mbappe is not up to it, Ousmane Dembele likely will be.

Belgium News

The Red Devils are going to feel the loss of Thomas Meunier. While ‘only’ a squad player at Paris Saint-Germain at club level, he’s essential for a Belgium generation that has struggled for quality full-backs. He’s been solid, and will want to try and impress the plethora of clubs linked to him as he tried to rebuild his club career. He misses out here, though, and we might see Yannick Carrasco play as a rather odd but effective replacement.

With Carrasco and Nacer Chadli likely to be the wing-backs, though, there will be a major onus on Mousa Dembele and Axel Witsel to offer as much cover as they can.

Verdict

A Belgium win: they have a touch more experience than this young and exciting France side. While France have so much youthful exuberance, this Belgium team feels fated to make it to the Final. We think that, after an intensive an absorbing game, it’ll be a Belgium win.