PREVIEW: Favourites France look to lay down marker against Sweden in last 32 clash | OneFootball

James Bools

France will look to justify their status as tournament favourites in tonight’s last 32 clash with Sweden at Rutherford, New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium.

Didier Deschamps’ side are hotly tipped to win the World Cup for a third time after topping Group I with maximum points, and scoring a whopping ten goals across their three matches.

Unsurprisingly they possess two of the tournament’s current three top scorers, with Ousmane Dembélé and Kylian Mbappé sitting behind Argentina’s Lionel Messi on four strikes following the former’s hat-trick against Norway.

And the pair have also contributed three assists between them, demonstrating that it is not just about the goals for Les Bleus’ frightening frontline.

Naturally given their fine form both players are guaranteed to start up front and on the right wing, but debate remains regarding who may feature on the left flank. Désiré Doué and Bradley Barcola have been utilised by Deschamps with mixed results, but given Doue’s late goal against Norway it is expected he will have the edge.

Dayot Upamecano made some big clearances to maintain French daylight against the Norwegians and can expect to feature at the heart of defence, but Maxence Lacroix could see himself dropped for William Saliba after being given a torrid time by Ståle Solbakken’s men.

And Michael Olise will be keen to redeem himself following a subpar display against the Landslaget.

Veteran midfielder and 2018 winner N’Golo Kante is missing through injury as is Inter Milan forward Marcus Thuram, but bearing in mind their substitute status neither man is likely to be a big loss.

Sweden, by contrast, finished third in an inconsistent Group F campaign, after a 5-1 win against Tunisia was followed up with defeat by the same margin against the Netherlands and a draw against Japan.

But having already seen their rivals from that group exit the competition against Morocco and Brazil, Graham Potter’s men will be hoping to go one better and pull off one of the event’s biggest shocks so far in advancing to the last 16.

If they are to do so then they will have to overcome one of this World Cup’s meanest defences, with France having conceded just two times in three Group I games.

And history is also against the Scandinavians, with Les Bleus triumphing in four out of their last five encounters dating back to 2014 and Sweden’s solitary win coming nine years ago.

But despite what their strong defensive record suggests this French backline has looked shaky at times, and are there to be got at should the Swedes effectively utilise the pace of Alexander Isak and Victor Gyökeres in behind.

Both players are surefire starters as their country’s main men up front, while Anthony Elanga will feel aggrieved if he doesn’t make the cut after netting against the Oranje and Samurai Blue.

Captain Victor Lindelöf is likely to keep his place despite enduring a substandard tournament so far, but Atalanta’s Isak Hien has been ruled out due to a muscle problem.

Derby County’s Jacob Widell Zetterström replaced Kristoffer Nordfeldt for the Japan clash courtesy of the Stockholm shot-stopper’s stinker of a display against the Dutch, and may be given another chance against Les Bleus after enjoying a solid outing in that fixture.

France vs Sweden kicks off at 10pm GMT on ITV1, ITVX, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website, in addition to RTE2 for viewers in the Republic of Ireland.