England vs Switzerland Preview: Classic Encounter, Key Battles, Team News & More

Following a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Spain to start their UEFA Nations League campaign, Gareth Southgate's England face a friendly clash with Switzerland at

Following a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Spain to start their UEFA Nations League campaign, Gareth Southgate's England face a friendly clash with Switzerland at the King Power Stadium on Tuesday.

The second of the Three Lions' international matches during this break, Southgate will want to get back to winning ways, having suffered three consecutive defeats for the first time since 1988.

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Switzerland will not be an easy task, however, coming into the match on the back of a resounding 6-0 thrashing they handed out to Iceland - an old, haunting enemy of England's past footballing endeavours.

Classic Encounter

Switzerland 1-8 England (Friendly, June 1963)

In front of 49,800 at the St Jakob Park in Basel, Sir Bobby Charlton set about smashing a Swiss defence to pieces - scoring a hat-trick that took his England tally to 30 - setting him joint England top-goalscorer with Tom Finney and Nat Lofthouse; a record he'd break later that year against Wales.

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The game itself was as one-sided as they come, with England's dominant attacking force just too much for the Swiss team to handle. Johnny Byrne grabbed a brace, while Bryan Douglas, Jimmy Melia and Tony Kay all found the back of the net too.

Swiss player Heinz Bertschi at least gave the home fans something to cheer in what was ultimately a night to forget in northwestern Switzerland.

Key Battle

Danny Rose v Kevin Mbabu

It's not the typical match-up you would expect to be highlighted ahead of an England game, especially with the Premier League stars that will be gracing the pitch, but the battle of the full backs might well decide the outcome of the match.

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Should Switzerland continue to go with former Newcastle United full back Mbabu, who won his first senior cap against Iceland in the 6-0 win, then it will fall on Rose to take full advantage.

It would have been Luke Shaw, prior to his injury, but now Rose will be expected to push forward all the same. Fresh to the international scene, Mbabu may struggle if put under significant pressure and that could give England an outlet to create from in what will likely be a cagey affair.

Team News

England had already lost Raheem Sterling and Adam Lallana from the squad through injury, and Saturday's match against Spain offered little help in that regard. 

Manchester United's Shaw was stretchered off following a collision with Dani Carvajal and will miss out, while Dele Alli has withdrawn from the squad over fitness concerns. Marcus Rashford is a doubt too.

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There are some reports of an injury to debutant Djibril Sow, but beyond that the Switzerland squad will be at its full capacity when facing off against England in Leicester.

Predicted Lineup

England: Pickford; Tarkowski, Stones, Walker; Rose, Alexander-Arnold; Dier, Lingard, Delph, Loftus-Cheek; Kane.

Switzerland: Sommer; Mbabu, Akanji, Schär, Rodríguez; Xhaka, Widmer; Seferovic, Shaqiri, Zuber; Embolo.

Prediction

With England likely to heavily rotate their squad following the 2-1 defeat to Spain, this will be more a chance for players to show Southgate why he should pick them next international break than anything else.

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Switzerland won 6-0 in their last match against the usually defensively solid Iceland, but don't be fooled. They're still not an incredibly free-flowing team and this friendly has all the hallmarks of being a tight, cagey affair decided by one or two individual moments.

Predicted Scoreline: England 2-0 Switzerland.