England’s European Championship campaign looked dead and buried before it was salvaged by a remarkable last-gasp goal from Jude Bellingham in the round of 16, but it has barely made its presence felt in Germany.
A couple of weeks ago, England would have relished facing Switzerland — a team it has lost to only three times in its 27 meetings and most recently in 1981.
Murat Yakin’s team, however, has played with a consistency and confidence that has eluded England.
Southgate has been criticised for not making many changes to his team but that could be about to change as they practised a back three in training, with Kyle Walker moved to the right of centre three and Bukayo Saka potentially playing as wing-back.
Of concern to Southgate is the fact that defender Marc Guehi, who has been solid on his major tournament debut, is suspended for Saturday’s match, John Stones has been training with his leg heavily bandaged and Luke Shaw has not played since February due to injury.
READ FULL PREVIEW | Southgate considering England shake-up against Switzerland
ENGLAND VS SWITZERLAND PREDICTED LINEUPS
England predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Pickford, Walker, Konsa, Stones, Saka, Alexander Arnold, Rice, Mainoo, Bellingham, Foden, Kane
Switzerland predicted XI (3-4-3): Sommer, Schar, Rodriguez, Akanji, Widmer, Xhaka, Freuler, Aebischer, Ndoye, Vargas, Embolo
(With inputs from Reuters)