The finale of the inaugural Nations League campaign takes place on Sunday, with England in a third-place play-off and Portugal facing Netherlands in the final.
Recommended bets
1pt Granit Xhaka 1+ shots on target at 11/4
1pt Netherlands to have 14+ total shots at 6/4
0.5pt Cristiano Ronaldo to score a header at 9/1
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It will be interesting to see if fatigue plays a part in this after the Netherlands were taken to extra-time on Thursday.
It is a major final and a great chance for Ronald Koeman to claim silverware after just 18 months in the Dutch hot-seat, having taken over a national team that was in a bit of a crisis after missing out on the World Cup.
For Portugal, meanwhile, it is a promising opportunity to add to their European Championship win three years ago.
That success showed how Fernando Santos' side can win without necessarily playing an attractive style of football and the feeling is they will manage the game well and be able to take advantage of their opponents' likely fatigue.
The enhanced odds available with Sky Bet on Cristiano Ronaldo to score a header at 9/1 are incredibly tempting, considering how strong the 34-year-old is in the air.
The Juventus man (watch his hat-trick against Switzerland here) had 37 headed attempts for the Italian giants in the Serie A and Champions League last season and, at the available price, it is worth a small bet irrespective of the fact that he is up against Virgil van Dijk.
The headline bet for this one, though, is in the team shots market.
Albeit with extra-time, the Netherlands peppered England's goal, registering an impressive 29 attempts to England's 13. Of those 29, 14 were on target and they may go with a similar approach to get past a Portugal side that is tough to break down and on an impressive nine-match unbeaten run.
At 6/4, it's worth backing Koeman's side to continue to demonstrate their attacking talents - even if the Portuguese may have the edge.
Score prediction: Portugal 2-1 Netherlands (Sky Bet odds: Price Boosted to 10/1)
Best bets
Cristiano Ronaldo to score a header at 9/1
Netherlands to have 14+ total shots at 6/4
Opta facts
- Portugal have only lost two of their 13 previous International encounters with Netherlands in all competitions (W7 D4), though one of those defeats came in their most recent meeting in Geneva, a 0-3 defeat to Ronal Koeman’s men back in March 2018.
- Since Ronald Koeman took charge of Netherlands in February 2018, the Oranje have lost only three of his 13 matches in charge, winning six and drawing the other four.
- Portugal are unbeaten in their last nine matches in all competitions (W4 D5), last embarking on a longer such run between February 2009 and June 2010 under manager Carlos Queiroz (19 games).
- Excluding own goals, Memphis Depay has either scored (three) or assisted (five) each of Netherlands’ last eight goals in all competitions, including setting up two of the three goals in their semi-final win over England.
- In their semi-final victory over Switzerland, Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo netted his 53rd hat-trick for club and country. In fact, seven of the last eight hat-tricks scored for the Portuguese national side have come from Ronaldo (André Silva – 1).
Switzerland v England: Xhaka's Swiss role in the third-pace play-off
- Sky Sports Main Event
England will be hoping to bounce back from Thursday's disappointment against the Netherlands by beating Switzerland and returning to winning ways before the summer break.
The side fielded by Gareth Southgate on Sunday should look a little stronger with the return of some of the Champions League finalists, although the manager insists he does not want to make 'wholesale changes'.
A Marcus Rashford goal helped the Three Lions win their friendly with the Swiss last September and Vladimir Petkovic's side have been pretty inconsistent since after such an impressive run previously.
While the odds on Raheem Sterling or Dele Alli finding the back of the net is somewhat appealing, preference is to look at the shots market after spotting an eye-catching price in the Rossocrociati's ranks.
After England's defeat, there was talk of how they lack a player who can dictate play in the middle in a deep, ball-playing role, a bit like Granit Xhaka does for the Swiss.
We all know about the 26-year-old, who was singled out for praise from his national team boss last week. The Arsenal midfielder is known for his tendency to pick up cheap yellow cards but, more importantly in this case, his powerful left foot and long-range shots make him a threat from range.
Granted, he can often be wasteful, both in terms of passing and shooting, but he is likely to be in the thick of it should he start in a five-man midfield on Sunday.
Xhaka often shoots when the goal is in sight - he had 25 efforts from outside the box in the Premier League this season, more than any other Arsenal player.
The Swiss will get their chances, especially if England are as clumsy on the ball once again, and the 11/4 on Xhaka to register a shot on target is too good to look elsewhere in a game that could, quite frankly, fail to inspire both sets of players.
England have netted a penalty in two of their last three fixtures while Switzerland have scored two in their last four. Considering this, and England's pacy attack, backing a spot-kick to be successfully converted by either team at 12/5 is worth a look, butXhaka in the shots market is the preference here.
Score prediction: Switzerland 0-2 England (Sky Bet odds: Price Boosted to 11/1)
Best bet: Granit Xhaka 1+ shots on target at 11/4
Opta facts
- This will be the 26th international meeting between England and Switzerland – England have won 17 of the previous 25 (W17 D5 L3).
- Against the Netherlands, England conceded three goals for only the second time in the last 79 internationals (also 2-3 v France in June 2017). The Three Lions last conceded three times in back-to-back games in June 1995 against Sweden (3-3) and Brazil (1-3).
- Switzerland have lost five of their last 10 matches (W4 D1 L5) having lost just one of their previous 25 games (W17 D7 L1).
- Switzerland defender Ricardo Rodriguez scored his seventh international goal in the 1-3 defeat to Portugal – five of his seven goals have been scored from the penalty spot.
- In the 1-3 defeat to the Netherlands, England faced 29 shots – the most they’ve faced in an international match since June 2013 against Brazil (32) and most in a competitive international since June 2012 against Italy (36).
- England have scored each of the last 21 penalties they’ve taken in competitive international matches – the last player to fail to score was David Beckham at Euro 2004 against France.
Odds correct as of 1400 BST on 08/06/19
