Sweden vs Belarus Prediction & Betting Tips

Sweden find themselves in a tough four way battle at the top of the group at the moment, and they know that they cannot afford to slip up at home to a below average Belarus side.

SWE W L W L W Sweden

VS 25 Mar 2017 5:00 pm (GMT)

BLR L W D L D

Match Information

Friends Arena, Stockholm, Sweden

World Cup Qualifiers

Key Stat: 2- the number of teams that will advance out of the group. One of them will go straight to Russia, while the other will be forced into a playoff. Sweden find themselves in a battle with the Netherlands and France for those spots, and they are at risk for missing a third consecutive World Cup.
Expert Verdict: Sweden are in a must-win situation in this match. Every match in this group against the smaller sides is going to be a must-win for them, France, and the Netherlands if they are to advance from this group of heavy hitters. Luckily for them, Belorussian football is at a low point and they are just not very complete at the moment. Sweden have a lot of very good players all around the pitch, and if they can find the right combination, they can become a very dangerous proposition.

Our prediction

Sweden

Sweden Team News, Updates and Facts

Team News

Janne Andersson, it must be said, will not have Zlatan available to him. He has retired from the Swedish side after carrying them for many years.

Key Man

The hope of the past generation was also Zlatan, but the hope of the new generation of Swedes is Emil Forsberg. The 25 year old Red Bull Leipzig man can play in just about any attacking position, and he has found his best ever form this season in the Bundesliga. He's only scored three goals in 24 caps for Sweden, but he did score in their last outing against the French. Forsberg is very pacy, a great dribbler, and he can pop up just about anywhere. That can be very dangerous for this Belarus side to deal with.

Team Form

Sweden have one loss, two wins, and one draw in this very tough group so far. They lost 2-1 in France last time out.

Expected Line-up: 4-4-2

Sweden likely XI

Goalkeeper:Olsen
Defenders:Krafth, Granqvist, Lindelof, Augustinsson
Midfielders:Ekdal, Johansson, Durmaz, Forsberg
Striker:Guidetti, Toivonen

Belarus Team News, Updates and Facts

Team News

Alyaksandr Khatskevich will be without midfielder Alexsandr Hleb after he was red carded in the closing moments of the match against Bulgaria.

Key Man

Vitali Rodionov, a striker that is with perennial strong BATE Borisov in the Belorussian league, is the leading scorer in this current squad with ten goals. At the age of 33, they continue to call him up due to the fact that they still haven't been able to replace him. At BATE, he's a club legend of sorts, having scored over 100 goals in over 250 appearances. His last international goal was over three years ago, so he's definitely due and needed to score.

Team Form

Belarus have two losses and two draws in their four matches to this point. They gained an impressive point in their opener against France, but they've petered out a little. They lost 1-0 in Bulgaria last time out.

Expected Line-up: 4-1-4-1

Belarus likely XI

Goalkeeper:Gorbunov
Defenders:Politevech, Martynovich, Filipenko, Polykarov
Midfielders:Kendysh, Gordejchuk, Maevskiy, Korzun, Nekhajchik
Striker:Rodionov

Sweden vs Belarus Head-to-Head Stats

There have been just three meetings between these two sides, and Sweden have won all three. Here's how they finished:

Jun 2, 2010: Belarus 0-1 Sweden (Friendly)
Aug 20, 1997: Belarus 1-2 Sweden (World Cup Qualifiers)
Jun 1, 1996: Sweden 5-1 Belarus (World Cup Qualifiers)