Sweden vs. England: Complete Preview, Team News, Projected Lineups and More

Sweden and England are both under enormous pressure heading into their Group D clash.

Neither managed a win in their opening match at Euro 2012, meaning that a result in their second fixture is of paramount importance. 

For England, the match is an opportunity to build on the solid defense that they showed against France and to keep their qualification aspirations on track. For Sweden, the match is a do-or-die encounter, with anything but a win all but assuring them of elimination from the tournament next week.

Euro 2012 has already shown that even the most unlikely of teams can walk away with victory, and this one is no exception to that. Read on to find a complete preview of the match, including the latest team news, projected lineups, key matchups and predictions.

Group D at Euro 2012

As mentioned above, both Sweden and England are in desperate need of the three points on offer in this match, with neither recording a win in their opening game. They subsequently sit in the bottom two positions of the group, but with a France victory over Ukraine, both would remain in contention for qualification.

England opened their campaign with a 1-1 against France—showcasing their strong defensive cohesion against a strong attacking outfit. Their attack wasn't as strong as it could have been, and will be when Wayne Rooney is back, but they were impressive nonetheless.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Sweden, who dropped to Ukraine 2-1 in a match that they really needed a result from if they were to qualify at Euro 2012. A brace from Andriy Shevchenko was enough to defeat Sweden 2-1, who had scored earlier through Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Ukraine therefore sit atop Group D with four points, with England and France on two points and Sweden yet to register a point in the tournament. However, France should defeat Ukraine and would therefore give both Sweden and England the opportunity to bridge the gap on the table and keep their qualification hopes alive.

Latest Team News

England's Wayne Rooney is still suspended for the Three Lions, but will be available for their third and final group match against Ukraine next week. Rooney's absence was certainly felt as England struggled to capitalize on the French defense which, at times, was certainly exposed. 

Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain was a surprise starter for Roy Hodgson's men in their first match, but was strong on the wing and will likely start again for England. His pace and attacking strength is of short supply in the England squad, and with plenty of natural ability he could open up the Swedish defense.

Speaking on the health of the English team heading in to the match, Hodgson commented:

"

"I will have to assess the freshness of my team and see whether they are able to do it again. Scott Parker and Steven Gerrard are both over 30 and had to work really hard (against France). I'm not the only coach wondering, 'Can they do it every four days?

But my gut feeling, after a good recovery day on Tuesday, a sensible training day on Wednesday and sensible recovery day on Thursday, is that it will be very hard for me to leave people out..."

"

Yet the biggest news around this match is surrounding Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is desperately fighting an injury in order to play against England. After being forced to sit out the team's practice on Tuesday, the likelihood of him playing appears to be 50-50, with the latest on his injury coming from Mirror Football: 

"

"The AC Milan ace wore strapping and only did gentle ball-work and jogging as his team-mates played a practice match ahead of Kiev clash..."

"

With Sweden's chances at qualification so dependent on getting a result in this match and Ibrahimovic so important to their attack, I'd be very surprised if he didn't line up against England. He is their best attacking option and the player most likely to produce a goal for them, meaning that he should still play despite an injury.

Projected Lineups

With all that in mind then, I expect few changes to made for either side heading in to this encounter—perhaps one or two slight changes from England.

Courtesy of Lineup Builder, I've used the same 4-4-1-1 formation that both sides adopted in their opening match to project lineups for both teams. 

For England, I've gone with a couple of changes—namely the inclusion of Andy Carroll in to the starting lineup at the expense of James Milner.

Yes, I've gone with the big-money disappointment at Liverpool in a match that England must win, but I've done it because of the aerial threat that he brings. Euro 2012 has been a tournament of headed goals, and with Ashley Young back on the wing, Carroll would be a great boost to England's attack.

Paul Carr of ESPN highlights just how valuable having a forward that can score headed goals is turning out to be in Euro 2012, with 11 of the 28 goals so far coming from headers.

For Sweden, I've gone with the same squad that lost to Ukraine in the opening match—keeping Ibrahimovic in the starting side because I believe that he will play despite injury concerns.

However, expect one or two changes to be made at half time if Sweden aren't in front.

Key Matchup: Steven Gerrard vs. Rasmus Elm

The most important matchup, however, will not be in England's forward line or Sweden's forward line, but right in the middle of the pitch, as Steven Gerrard and Rasmus Elm try to control the midfield for their respective teams.

Gerrard finished with the highest average match rating for England in their opening match—providing the assist for their opening goal and leading the team in key passes. He was also strong in defense and led the team in tackles and blocked shots also.

His counterpart Elm does play a similar style of football, albeit not as prolific or well-documented due to their respective notoriety. Elm touched the ball more than any other Swedish midfielder in their opening match, and chalked up the second-highest amount of key passes despite finishing with a poor match rating.

Whoever can dominate the middle of the pitch—be it Gerrard or Elm—will give their team an upper edge in both attack and defense and could well decide the outcome of this match.

Additional Information

Friday, 15th June at 2:30 p.m. ET at the Olympic Stadium, Kiev, Sweden

England might appear the favorites on paper, but according to UEFA.com, Sweden should enter this match full of confidence based on previous encounters between the two sides. Sweden have never lost a competitive game against England, with their previous encounters providing two wins and five draws. They are also yet to lose a game to England at the Euros with two wins and a draw throughout their three previous matches.

From those statistics, Swedish coach Anders Svensson has accused England of disrespecting Sweden, and considering that England has beaten Sweden just once in, wait for it, 43 years of football, he might just have a point. You can read the full story via Goal.com.

English striker Danny Welbeck has stated that he thinks the affair will be a high-scoring encounter, with plenty of opportunities to arise throughout the match. He predicts that the match will be "fun to watch" for neutral fans, with the full story available via BBC Sport.

Speaking of strikers, it appears that Sweden have used some more 'unconventional' methods to improve their sharp-shooting ahead of Friday's clash—using the backside of their reserve goalkeeper as their target. I kid you not—full story available via Mirror Football.

The referee for Friday's clash is also none other than Damir Skomina—the controversial Slovenian referee who received an earful from Arsene Wenger after Arsenal bowed out of the UEFA Champions League—so much so that Wenger received a three-game suspension for his words.

Hopefully the officiating won't ire any English or Swedish supporters any more than usual in this one.

Prediction

With all of that out of the way, it should be a fascinating matchup as both teams fight for their respective qualification aspirations. 

For me, England will be just too strong for Sweden. I think their attack will be better in the final third than it was against France and I think their defense will once again be too strong to break down.

Ibrahimovic's inclusion will no doubt give Sweden a boost, as will their historic dominance over the Three Lions, but in the end it won't be enough to keep their chances alive.

England will win, and move to second place in the group whilst Sweden will continue to consolidate themselves on the bottom of Group D.

Final score: England 3, Sweden 0

Thoughts, questions, comments? 

Comment below or hit me up on Twitter —  Follow @dantalintyre