England Women vs Sweden Women predictions: Lionesses could be held

Liam Flin
Spotlight
Sarina Wiegman will hope to see England finish off the job of clinching automatic qualification for the European Championship.
Sarina Wiegman will hope to see England finish off the job of clinching automatic qualification for the European Championship.

- England Women have lost just one of their last nine games
- The reverse fixture between these sides finished 1-1 in April
- Recommended bet: Draw

It was not that long ago that England's chances of making it to Euro 2025 to defend their continental crown looked precarious, but the Lionesses have turned things around and are on the cusp of qualifying.

Earlier this year, England were held to a draw by Sweden at Wembley Stadium before a 2-1 defeat to France put them on the back foot in a testing qualifying section.

But Sarina Wiegman's side have since bounced back, defeating Les Bleues on their own turf in the follow-up fixture before edging Ireland 2-1 last time out.

Those result mean Sweden will likely have to go through the play-off route to qualify for Euro 2025, while England simply need to avoid defeat in Gothenburg to punch their ticket in Switzerland next year.

Team news

Sweden could stick with the same team that lost 2-1 to France last time out.

England boss Sarina Wiegman may ring the changes for this match with the likes of Millie Bright, Lucy Bronze and Ella Toone among those who could be reintroduced to the starting line-up.

The stats

England Women have lost just one of their last nine matches in all competitions.

These sides drew 1-1 when they clashed in qualifying back in April.

Sweden have picked up just two wins in their last five contests, although they have scored in seven of their last eight assignments.

Alessia Russo is on three goals for England Women in Euro 2025 qualifying after she found the net against Ireland last time out.

Prediction

A second-half strike from Barcelona ace Fridolina Rolfo denied England victory over Sweden in April this year and another testing night could be on the cards in Gothenburg.

There is no doubt England head into this match in the stronger position and Wiegman's decision to rest the likes of Lucy Bronze and Ella Toone against Ireland made sense.

But even accounting for the fact it was not England's strongest team, they looked pretty underwhelming in the 2-1 win over Ireland.

It was a laboured victory and there were plenty of loose passes and individual errors for the Lionesses, who were not at their absolute sharpest.

A win is a win and they will in all likelihood progress to Euro 2025 without the need of the playoffs but the draw looks like the way to go when they take on Sweden.

The Swedes are third in the section but they are nonetheless stubborn opponents who held England last time and can do so again with home advantage behind them.

Win up to £250,000 with LiveScore 6!

Win up to £250,000 with our free-to-play game, LiveScore 6!

Tags

England WSweden