England captain Steven Gerrard has warned fans not to expect a goal rush against Switzerland in Basle on Tuesday night (Switzerland 16/5 – To Keep A Clean Sheet).
The Three Lions move on from the 4-0 hammering of Bulgaria at Wembley in the opening game of the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign by taking on the stingy Swiss.
Ottmar Hitzfeld’s men set a new record at the World Cup for minutes played without conceding a goal – 559 – which beat the previous best of 550 minutes set by Italy.
Switzerland also rolled over eventual world champions Spain in their opening group game although they still failed to get into the second phase after a defeat to Chile and a draw with Honduras.
Gerrard admits he has personally run the rule over the Swiss and says England must be patient as they look for chances later.
The Liverpool star said: “They’re a top side. Defensively they’re very good. We’ll be watching more tapes of them before the game.
“I followed them really closely in the World Cup because we were linked with a player called (Gokhan) Inler with the rumours that (Javier) Mascherano was supposed to be leaving Liverpool.
“They’ll be difficult to break down. I liked Inler, thought he was good, but I don’t control what players we sign.”
While the Swiss are mean at the back, lack of goals was their problem in the summer while they only scored more than two goals on one occasion during World Cup qualifying – against minnows Luxembourg – in 10 games.
In contrast, England scored 34 times during qualification for the 2010 World Cup finals although the feel-good factor around Fabio Capello’s side evaporated during a dreadful campaign in South Africa.
Capello is looking forward, though, and admits he is delighted to have unearthed the strike partnership of Wayne Rooney and Jermain Defoe (England 4/7 – To Score First Goal).
The Italian said: “Sometimes over the course of a season it is like players have a chemical moment. I can see that in them now.
“Against Bulgaria, Defoe’s movement was fantastic and Rooney’s passing was fantastic.
“Rooney has played in a lot of different positions, left wing in the Champions League, as a lone centre-forward and in midfield.
“On Friday I asked him to play just in front of their two central defenders.
“He had a lot of possession, was free to move around the pitch and was really good with the ball at his feet.
“He is so technically strong his passing was excellent.”
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