England

The Three Lions are the current leaders of Group G but they are level on points with Montenegro, who host Bulgaria on the same day, and Capello is keen to wrap up qualification as soon as possible.

However, star striker Wayne Rooney is suspended and Andy Carroll is sidelined, meaning Aston Villa’s Darren Bent is the most likely candidate to lead the line.

Villa may have struggled throughout the 2010/2011 season but Bent has been in fine form, scoring 11 goals since his January switch to the Midlands club.

Bent is 8/11 to score at anytime, while the former Sunderland man is a much more attractive 10/3 to open the scoring or 9/2 to grab a brace.

England are the heavy 1/3 favourites, with Switzerland 8/1 and the draw 7/2, but the Swiss are a well organised side and they could make things difficult for Fabio Capello’s men.  In the Half-Time/Full-Time market a draw/England result is priced at 3/1.

Switzerland may be well organised and relatively strong at the back but their attacking options are limited and lack any real threat going forward.

Capello is also expected to name a back-four of Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Cole, Glen Johnson and John Terry for the tie at Wembley.  On paper, and according to the majority of pundits, that is England’s strongest defensive combination and they should be able to keep a clean sheet.

An England clean sheet is priced at 10/11, which is worth some consideration, but England are 11/10 to win to nil and this may be the better option of the two bets.

Rooney’s likely replacement is Theo Walcott, with James Milner or Adam Johnson the other possibilities and the Arsenal winger tends to impress on the international stage.  Walcott is also keen to impress Capello after missing out on the 2010 World Cup and the 22-year-old is 7/4 to score at anytime in the match.

Switzerland’s most likely goalscorer, if they do manage to break England’s resolve, is Bayer Leverkusen striker Eren Derdiyok. Coach Ottmar Hitzfeld has chosen uncapped duo Innocent Emeghara, 22, and Admir Mehmedi, 20, as his other forward options and it remains to be seen if they will be able to rise to the occasion.

Derdiyok does not have an outstanding pedigree in terms of international goals but he is a talented striker and can be backed at 10/3 to score at anytime, or 11/1 to score the last goal.  Derdiyok’s Leverkusen team-mate Tranquillo Barnetta could be another option as an anytime goalscorer and the 26-year-old winger is 9/2 to score at anytime.

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Capello’s current deal runs until 2012, including the European Championships in Poland and the Ukraine, and the FA insist that he will remain as the manager, despite the speculation.

“We are working on the basis that Fabio will be with us until 2012,” said the FA’s Adrian Bevington in an interview with BBC 5 live.

“The view beyond that, based on the discussions I’ve been involved in, is that we should have an English manager after that.”

The Italian tactician has found himself the target of the press yet again following his treatment of former captain David Beckham.  Capello announced after England’s 2-1 victory over Hungary at Wembley that he would not pick the veteran midfielder for any more competitive matches and, while many pundits agree with his decision, the general feeling is that he handled the situation badly.

Beckham is England’s most capped outfield player, having represented his country 115 times, and has always made himself available for the national side.  The FA and a number of England fans are unhappy with the fact that Capello revealed Beckham would not play again in a television interview, rather than explain the situation to the player himself.

The former AC Milan and Real Madrid boss oversaw England’s worst ever World Cup campaign during the summer and there were calls for him to be axed following the dismal display in South Africa.  However, the FA chose to stick with Capello for the Euro 2012 qualification campaign despite the humiliating 4-1 loss at the hands of bitter rivals Germany in the last 16.

A well known Sunday tabloid newspaper has reported that Manchester City will try and tempt Capello away from England if Eastlands boss Roberto Mancini struggles in the early stages of the season (City 6/1 to win the Premier League).  While press reports of this nature should probably be taken with a very big pinch of salt the media have started to speculate that the Italian is facing the axe from the FA, with other sources claiming he has just three games to turn England’s fortunes around.

England are next in action on November 17 in a friendly against France at Wembley.  Capello has stated he will pick Beckham for the tie against the French as a farewell game but the former captain has insisted he has no plans to retire and will continue to battle for a place in the England side, despite Capello’s comments.

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England play their final warm-up game before the World Cup against Japan in Graz on Sunday. After the mixed performance in Monday’s game with Mexico, the speculation is that the Italian will send out his preferred eleven.

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At least one will be missing though because Gareth Barry has not recovered from his ankle injury- and may not make it to South Africa at all. The absence of the Manchester City man- and the long-term problems of Owen Hargreaves- has left a midfield conundrum.

Very few teams have success at the highest level without a defensively-minded central midfielder. As a former defender, Barry converted to the role with England when Hargreaves fell out of contention. Without either man, Capello has a big problem.

Michael Carrick is out of form and Tom Huddlestone and Scott Parker are both very inexperienced at international level. James Milner looked uncomfortable there against a slick Mexico and the Steven Gerrard- Frank Lampard pairing has never really gelled.

There are cases of players suddenly propelled into a major tournament from nowhere and Parker might just get a chance to play himself in on Sunday alongside Lampard, with Gerrard retaining his roving role.

Outside central midfield, fans will be eager to see if Theo Walcott or Aaron Lennon starts on the right. Ashley Cole and John Terry should return to the defence and the other questions are who supports Wayne Rooney up front and who gets the nod in goal.

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Robert Green did himself no harm against Mexico but David James and the youthful Joe Hart both have greater presence in the nets.

Japan are unlikely to be as testing as Mexico, although they are always well-organised and play at a formidably high tempo. They have made it to the World Cup Finals again and soccer continues to improve in Asia. Japan have twice played in England in friendlies and managed a 1-1 result in 2004.
England will go into the match as hot favourites but much depends on the side that the manager selects. It is still possible that experimentation will be the order of the day, offering an opportunity to Japan.

Their last two outings have been none too impressive though, losing to Serbia by three goals and going down 2-0 to South Korea. England should be able to post a victory but it will be the manner of the performance that really matters.

Related posts:

1. Fabio Capello Tests His Defensive Reserves Against Egypt
2. Still Plenty to Play for after the First Leg World Cup Playoffs
3. Play Off Final Prediction: Can Blackpool Pull Off Cardiff Shock?

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