Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Sweden – News and Probable Lineups

Bosnia-Herzegovina will face Suécia this Friday night in the UEFA Nations League, with both teams battling for top positions in Group B4.

While the home team has reason to celebrate after gaining four points from their first two fixtures, the visitors have enjoyed successive victories.

Match overview

Even after guiding Suécia to the World Cup, Graham Potter still faces challenges to fully win over the fans of the national team who are looking for assurance that he is the right choice for the role.

Nevertheless, the English manager appears to be paving the way towards an extended tenure with the Scandinavian side after commencing this Nations League campaign with two consecutive wins.

A recent victory of 2-1 over Romênia was followed by a solid 3-1 win against Polônia on Monday, positioning Suécia at the top of the group.

Though Suécia has yet to register a clean sheet in any of Potter’s twelve games in charge, the sole match in which they failed to score was a 3-0 loss to França in the knockout stage of the World Cup.

Viktor Gyokeres, who has a desire to make an impression following his limited opportunities at Arsenal, netted in both of the recent Nations League encounters.

Bosnia-Herzegovina left the World Cup on a low note after being eliminated in the last-32 round by the United States.

Nonetheless, they have bounced back strongly with a goalless draw in Polônia followed by a 4-2 win in Romênia, indicating a positive trajectory for a team evolving under Sergej Barbarez.

Only two defeats have been registered in their last fourteen outings, which also includes World Cup playoff victories over País de Gales and Itália via penalty shootouts.

Although they are seen as underdogs in this group, three out of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s remaining four matches will take place at home.

The last encounter between these teams occurred in 2010 when Suécia triumphed with a score of 4-2 during a friendly.

Team News

Assuming there are no fitness concerns, Barbarez may opt to field the same Bosnia-Herzegovina lineup that secured victory in Romênia.

Forward Haris Tabakovic from Red Bull Salzburg has maintained his impressive start to the season with a goal in that match, marking his fifth in 13 international appearances, and should retain his position at the center of the attack.

Esmir Bajraktarevic, a winger from PSV Eindhoven, played a pivotal role in the previous fixture, setting up two goals.

If Potter aims to keep a 4-4-2 formation, he might also maintain the same starting XI for Suécia.

However, Alexander Bernhardsson and Sebastian Nanasi are alternatives to return on the flanks, particularly the latter who provided an assist following his introduction against Polônia.

Right-back Emil Holm and Liverpool forward Alexander Isak have already pulled out from the squad due to injuries received in the first match against Romênia.

Bosnia-Herzegovina probable starting XI:

Zlomislic; Memic, Katic, Muharemovic, Kolasinac; Basic, Gigovic; Bajraktarevic, Mahmic, Alajbegovic; Tabakovic

Suécia probable starting XI:

Johansson; Svensson, Lindelof, Starfelt, Gudmundsson; Walemark, Bergvall, Ayari, Nanasi; Nygren, Gyokeres

With a total of nine goals scored between the two teams so far, this match is expected to be quite entertaining. However, given his motivation to score, one can anticipate Gyokeres finding the back of the net once again, potentially leading to another win for Suécia and Potter.