Sweden vs. Czech Republic Predictions: We're taking the Swedes to nick this one

Friends Arena in Stockholm hosts the World Cup qualification semi-final playoff between Sweden and Czech Republic. The winner of this tie will face off against Poland In the Final, with Poland being given a bye due to the removal of Russia from the qualification process.

Being in Group B with European powerhouse Spain, Sweden would have expected to finish second, however they sat pretty at the top of the group with only two matches to play. A poor performance against Georgia where they were beaten 2-0 left a bitter taste in their mouth, almost blowing their chance of topping the group, leaving automatic qualification down to their final match versus Spain, to which they conceded late on to lose 1-0. Two matches on home soil are all that stands between Sweden and World Cup qualification, with only victories against both Czech Republic and Poland enough to see them appear in Qatar. Anthony Elanga of Manchester United could make his debut for Sweden, both Emil Krafth and Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be missing due to suspension.

Euro 2020 quarter-finalists, Czech Republic, managed to make it to the World Cup qualification playoffs by finishing Group E with fourteen points, behind both Wales and Belgium. When facing those sides, the Czechs came up short and only picked up two points across the four matches, but taking six points against both Estonia and Belarus. Jaroslav Sukhavys side head to Stockholm as underdogs, priced at 13/8 to qualify, with Sweden 4/9. A calf injury for danger man Patrik Shick is bad news for the visitors as he will miss out here, with West Ham full back Vladimir Coufal also likely to miss out due to a groin injury. 

Sweden possible starting lineup:
Olsen; Lindelof, Danielson, Helander, Augustinsson; Kulusevski, Ekdal, Olsson, Forsberg; Isak, Quaison

Czech Republic possible starting lineup:
Vaclik; Brabec, Kalas, Zima, Mateju; Sadilek, Soucek; Masopust, Barak, Pesek; Hlozek

A game with World Cup qualification on the line, I don’t expect either team to come out all guns blazing. Both teams try to make themselves hard to beat and keep things tight, which is shown in previous results. In Euro2020, both of Sweden's wins came by a one goal margin, with a 2-1 defeat to Ukraine and a 0-0 draw with Spain. Their most recent qualifier was also against Spain to which they lost 1-0 to an 86th minute Alvaro Morata goal. 

Czech Republic are no pushovers either, making their way to the Euro202 quarter finals which included a 1-0 loss to England in a very tight game, and a 2-0 victory over Netherlands. In their five Euro2020 matches, four of those went under three goals. The loss of their biggest goal threat, Patrick Schick, is instrumental here and they could struggle to find the net.

Going with the same chain of thought as above that this game could lack excitement and goals, the most likely score according to the exchange is a 1-0 victory to the hosts. With the lack of strike force from the Czechs they will be happy to keep this tight for as long as possible.

In the Czech Republic's last seven losses, four of them have been by a 1-0 scoreline, with nine of Sweden's last fourteen victories also being by a one goal margin. 6/1 looks a very generous price under the circumstances, but backing this selection at slightly shorter odds with Bet365 at 5/1 offers an insurance that if the game finishes goalless you will get your stake returned as a free bet!

@DeanWoodward93 BettingOddsUK 2022 Profit/Loss  +7.77units