Sweden v England Tip

Roy Hodgson’s side head to Stockholm for the official opening of the Friends Arena with an experimental squad. Three debuts are guaranteed with Steven Caulkner, Leon Osman and Raheem Sterling bound for the starting line-up while Wilfried Zaha and Carl Jenkinson may add to the tally from off the bench.

Sweden look poised to field something closer to their strongest side which is why the bookies are making them favourites at nothing longer than 7/5 (PaddyPower). The spirit within Erik Hamren’s ranks appears to be beyond question after the Scandinavians recovered from 4-0 down to draw 4-4 away to Germany in their last fixture, a World Cup qualifier.

These teams were pretty evenly matched in the summer when they clashed in the Euro 2012 group stages. In a thrilling encounter, Sweden led 2-1 in the second half before England stormed back for a famous 3-2 victory.

Without Danny Welbeck’s late intervention in June it would have ended 2-2 and that’s the scoreline I’m going for tonight at best odds of 16/1 with BetVictor. The Swedes may appear to have the edge and the extra motivation as they open a new ground, but the Three Lions do remain unbeaten under Roy Hodgson - penalty shoot-outs aside. That makes them a tough nut to crack.

It will be a big ask for centre-back Caulkner to make his first start for his country in the close company of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. I can’t envisage a side that scored four in the final 30 minutes against Germany being shut-out against the English. However, the likes of Gerrard and Welbeck do have fond memories of this opposition themselves, so an entertaining score-draw could be on the cards.