Sweden vs Bulgaria
European Qualifiers – 2018 World Cup
Date: Monday, 10th October 2016
Kick-off: 19:45 UK
Venue: Friends Arena (Solna).
Sweden managed a lone goal victory over low rated side Luxembourg on Friday night, now they will be hosting Bulgaria at Friends Arena Solna on Sunday night.
After their disappointment in the European Championship, Sweden have switched back to a good run of form. Sweden have been unbeaten in their 2 games so far after Euro, with a win and a draw. Sweden are currently 3rd in the group A table with 4 points, same points with France and Netherlands above them. They will be hoping for a win in this game to go top of the table depending on other results.
Bulgaria were unfortunate on Friday night, they received a 4-1 beating from France. Bulgaria took the lead in the 6th minute through Aleksandrov, but France came from behind to score 4 goals. They are now 4th in he group with 3 points, they’ll hope to win this game to go above their host in the group table.
Head To Head
Sweden have won eight, drawn two, and lost two of their 12 meetings with Bulgaria, including wins in each of their last six encounters.
Stats
71% of Sweden's last seven games at home have seen Under 2.5 Goals, as have 50% of Bulgaria's last eight on the road.
Team News
Defender Andreas Granqvist will captain the team, whilst the attacking quartet of Ola Toivonen, Marcus Berg, John Guidetti and Christoffer Nyman will continue to try and fill the shoes of the legendary Zlatan Ibrahimovic after his retirement. Mikael Lustig and Marcus Berg have got the only goals for Sweden since Ibrahimovic's retirement.
Midfielder Svetoslav Dyakov will captain the Bulgarians, whilst striker Ivelin Popov is both the most capped player and the top scorer in the squad. Defender Dimitar Pirgov is hoping to build on his first start for the national team, as is midfielder Georgi Kostadinov. Midfielder Martin Raynov is hoping to follow in their footsteps and win his first cap
