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Sweden Vs Ukraine "A Tactical Battle"Sweden are approaching their opening group fixture of Euro 2012 in good spirits after emerging victorious in their final pre tournament warm up match against Serbia in which goals from the enigmatic Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Ola Toivonen saw the Swedes on their way to a confidence boosting victory. The same cannot be said however for their Group D opponents and tournament co hosts Ukraine, Oleh Blokhin saw his side falter against Turkey in their final warm up match however of a more pre sing concern to him Walker Buehler Jersey is the fact up to ten of his players have been struck down by a mystery virus with vice captain Anatoliy Tymoschuk reported to have been admitted to hospital on a drip. There are shades of lasagne gate which struck down the majority of Martin Jols Spurs side just the night before their final Premier League fixture where they needed a win to secure Champions League qualification however the cause of this mysterious Ukrainian virus is not yet known but the fact that it has decimated the squad just five days before the opening fixture against Sweden is very worrying indeed from a Ukrainian point of view.Swedish Preparation Sweden appear to be more than ready for the June 11th opener against Ukraine with them having a near enough injury free squad apart from the ongoing minimal concerns regarding Johan Elmanders metatarsal injury, there is a sense of calm for Sweden under Erik Hamren and this manifested itself in last nights performance against Serbia where a fluid free flowing attacking performance saw Sweden run out 2-1 victors. This newfound sense of serenity is one that may yet still need to find its way to Zlatan Ibrahimovic with the forward last night publically bemoaning Swedens inability to defend set pieces whilst some may feel this is part of his role as captain others may see it to be the first signs of his disruptive influence in what has been an otherwise peaceful reunion since Zlatans return to the national fold. Erik Hamren will be fully aware of the importance set pieces play heading into the clash with a Ukrainian side that boasts numerous physically domineering players who could be an aerial threat come June 11th. After the disappointing news regarding John Guidettis fitne s which ruled him out of the final 23 man squad for Euro 2012 much of Swedens goal scoring hope has been placed on the shoulders of Zlatan however there is one man that mustnt be forgotten and this is no other than PSV Eindhovens Ola Toivonen. Toivonen having boasted a record of 24 goals this season for PSV is heading into this tournament with a considerable amount of confidence, with Toivonen expected to occupy the role of a central attacking midfielder just behind Zlatan in Hamrens 4-2-3-1 system there will be chances created for him. With a player as physically domineering as Zlatan who can not only hold the ball up but also pick out a well timed run with a pa s then Toivonen could well be a potential dark horse for the golden boot of Euro 2012, the link up play between Toivonen and Zlatan is evident and has been ever since Erik Hamren took charge of the squad in 2010, his attacking system allowing Toivonen a certain amount of freedom in the attacking midfield role which has seen his form for both club and country improve tremendously. Not only Ukraine but Group Ds other participants France and England were given an idea of what to expect from Ibrahimovic and Toivonen in last weeks Kenta Maeda Jersey friendly against Iceland with Ibrahimovic using sublime skill and quick feet to beat a defender before putting in a low cro s which found Toivonen unmarked at the back post who then coolly applied the finish. Whilst Toivonen may not find this sort of space in the penalty area against better teams it was a mere indication of how both he and Zlatan could link up together this summer in Ukraine and Poland. Toivonens good goal scoring form heading into the tournament will also please Hamren with the PSV man having scored in consecutive games. Ukraine would be wise to not underestimate Sweden as simply being a one man team and must avoid concentrating solely on stifling the magnificence of Zlatan as the firepower of Toivonen with the support of Bajrami and Seb Lar son in the attacking midfield trio could well prove to be the decisive factor. The inclusion of Rasmus Elm in the Swedish starting eleven against Serbia has given a slight indication that Erik Hamren may well prefer Elm to Bajrami as part of the attacking trio heading into the tournament, if this is to be the case then Ukraine will have to deal with not only a player who can distribute the ball both quickly and accurately but also a player who is renowned for his dribbling technique. After a very impre sive year at AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands Elm has been attracting interest from Premier League giants Manchester United and will be determined to impre s potential suitors of the European heavyweight variety with a string of impre sive performances at this summers Championships. Finally onto the point of injuries with Sweden not picking up any injuries of note in the two warm up matches against Iceland and Serbia, Erik Hamren has a full squad at his disposal to choose from ahead of the Ukraine fixture however I am almost certain that he has the majority if Sandy Koufax Jersey not all of his preferred starting eleven transfixed in his mind with the only talking point being whether or not to start with Rasmus Elm or Emir Bajrami as the final player in the attacking midfield trio.Ukrainian PreparationUkraine unfortunately have not been able to prepare for their tournament opener against Sweden in a way they would have liked, after losing their final two pre tournament warm up matches against Austria and Turkey respectively a mystery illne s has decimated the Ukrainian squad as previously mentioned. This illne s is an event straight out of coach Oleh Blokhins nightmare with him now having to prepare multiple starting elevens before June 11th in case several of his players are not fit for the match. Whilst the severity of illne s may differ from team member to team member the rumour that it is a form of food poisoning is very worrying with this often causing an individual to feel weak and lose a lot of weight. If food poisoning has spread around the Ukrainian camp there is a high probability that several players may not be fit enough to play in any of the group matches, key men such as Tymoschuk will be a big mi s for the Ukraine as he not only provides international experience but a fantastic range of pa sing which could create chances for the veteran forward Andriy Shevchenko and his forward partner Artem Milevskiy. Whilst it has not been ideal preparation for Ukraine the enormity of the effect being a host nation can have on a team cannot be ignored, they will Corey Seager Jersey be playing their matches in Group D on home soil with the majority of supporters in the stadium going to be supporting them, this will give the players a boost and could prove vital in the game against Sweden where realistically Ukraine have to gain a positive result if they are to stand a good chance of progre sing to the knockout stages on their own soil, Russell Martin Jersey however it could be argued that being the host nation could increase the pre sure on a team as we saw in Euro 2008 with Austria who did not escape the group stages on home soil scoring just a solitary goal in the proce s. Ukraine will be relying heavily on the creativity of Dynamo Kyiv attacking trio Andriy Shevchenko, Andriy Yarmolenko and Artem Milevskiy as they hope to progre s to the knockout stages, with Shevchenko seeing the curtain fall on his international career after the tournament he will be as determined as ever to make an impact and as with Henrik Lar son in Euro 2008 this may prove to be a ma sive source of inspiration for the Ukrainian side as they head into the fixture against Sweden in five days time.Sweden Vs UkraineSweden will head into their opening group game comfortable with Erik Hamrens revolutionary 4-2-3-1 system which has allowed Sweden to completely distance themselves from the conservative stereotypically Swedish conservative approach to tournament football instilled by previous coach Lars Lagerback, this system giving individual players more freedom in how they play and in turn has improved results dramatically under Hamren. Oleh Blokhin is an advocate of the 4-4-2 formation which has plagued Swedish football for the last decade however fortunately for Ukraine Blokhin does allow a certain amount of fluidity within the system allowing his wingers to push forward which on occasions can cause the system to change to a 4-2-3-1 similar to Erik Hamrens Swedish system. The 4-2-3-1 is very effective when used against a 4-4-2 as it e sentially drowns the oppositions midfield, provided Ukraine start the match in a 4-4-2 system it will be incredibly difficult