Switzerland v Slovenia background

Switzerland and Slovenia appear to be locked in a battle for second place in UEFA EURO 2016 Group E, with England one win away from guaranteeing one of the top spots.

Previous meetings
• Milivoje Novakovič's penalty with 11 minutes left secured Slovenia maximum points in Maribor when the sides met in Group E last October.

• Switzerland's record in eight games against Slovenia is W5 D1 L2 (W3 D0 L1 in Switzerland), with those games including a friendly played in Muscat, Oman, which Switzerland won 2-0. That was the nations' first encounter.

• The teams also faced off in 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying. In the opening instalment, Granit Xhaka (20) and captain Gökhan Inler (51) scored as Ottmar Hitzfeld's Switzerland beat Slaviša Stojanovič's Slovenia 2-0 in Ljubljana on 7 September 2012. Xhaka (74) struck again as the Swiss prevailed 1-0 when the sides' group stage campaign concluded in Berne; had they won, Slovenia – by then coached by Srečko Katanec – would have earned a play-off place.

Disciplinary
• Switzerland midfielder Xhaka is a booking away from a suspension.

Form guide
• In Switzerland's last 16 home qualifiers (W11 D3 L2), the only country to have beaten them are England – 3-1 in 2010 and 2-0 in 2014.

• Switzerland have won their last four Group E matches since opening with defeats by England and Slovenia.

• Slovenia's campaign has been one of extremes: W3 L3, with no games drawn.

Trivia and links
• Slovenia midfielder Andraž Kirm turns 31 the day after the Switzerland fixture.

• Slovenia goalkeeper Samir Handanovič and Switzerland midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri were club-mates at FC Internazionale Milano before Shaqiri left for Stoke City FC this summer.

• In nine encounters between these nations in UEFA age-group competitions, Switzerland's record is W7 D1 L1.

• The two countries' clubs have met in nine UEFA matches, with the Swiss teams' record W4 D4 L1.