Jannik Vestergaard will leave Southampton after three years at the club and a total of 79 appearances for the Dane.

He had moved to St. Mary’s in the summer of 2018 from Bundesliga outfit Borussia Monchengladbach for £22.5 million.

Vestergaard will travel to Leicester to undergo a medical and discuss personal terms before the deal is finalised.

The Foxes have been interested in signing a centre-back since Wesley Fofana was ruled out until 2022 through injury in pre-season.

The French defender fractured his right fibula after he was on the receiving end of a tackle from Villarreal attacker Fernando Nino.

The 20-year-old’s leg was caught underneath Nino’s as the tackle occurred and he went down immediately.

The Marseille-born centre-back was stretchered off the pitch and was replaced by Ben Nelson.

Fofana played 38 times for the team over the course of his debut season and was part of Leicester’s historic FA Cup-winning run, playing in the final.

Rodgers recently spoke about the possibility of signing a centre-back to step in for Fofana this season in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports.

Rodgers told Sky Sports: “Hopefully we can. It’s an area where we are a little light with Jonny out as well for a period of time with a foot injury.

“With all the games we’re going to have over the course of the season, we need to have cover in those positions.

“It is something the club are currently looking at.”

Vestergaard played 32 times for Ralph Hassenhuttl’s side across all competitions last season and scored three times as they finished the league in 14th.

The 29-year-old was also involved in all six of Denmark’s games at Euro 2020 as they made an impressive run to the semi-finals after their talisman, suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch.

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RTE 2 and RTE Player will televise the match at 20:00 on Wednesday, 7^th July. Build up will start at 19:30 for the game in Wembley.

The winner of this match will face Italy or Spain in the Euro 2020 final also on in Wembley on Sunday evening.

England is presently ranked 4^th in the FIFA World Rankings and has been one of the favourites for this competition since it kicked off.

Gareth Southgate’s squad made it this far after winning their group and beating Germany and Ukraine. They managed to be the only team left in the competition yet to concede a single goal.

They will have great confidence in reaching their first major final since 1966 but can Denmark cause an upset.

After narrowly making out of their group they beat the Czech Republic and Wales in the knockout rounds. Denmark was considered heavy underdogs when they won Euro 1992 so could lightning strike twice.

Kasper Hjulmand has a very well-rounded Danish squad and they are now ranked 10^th in the world.

These two last faced each other nine months ago in the UEFA Nations League where Denmark beat England 1-0 away from home.

Both sides like to score with them having 4-0 victories in the knockouts, but can this Danish attack break down England’s defence?

Denmark receive a heroes' welcome!

Next stop: London! #EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/5rWlmI0UUw

— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) July 5, 2021

Predicted Line-ups

England

Formation

4-2-3-1

Predicted Starting 11

Pickford (GK), Walker, Stones, Maguire, Shaw, Henderson, Rice, Sterling, Mount, Grealish, Kane

Injuries/Suspensions

None

Roberto Carlos to PA on @LukeShaw23: “You can see he’s very motivated, his performance against Ukraine was very good. He’s been improving each game. I think he’s got everything to get to the top. He’s the left-back for England – that in itself says a lot" #ShawbertoCarlos #ENG pic.twitter.com/fLW1ki5X8r

— Simon Peach (@SimonPeach) July 6, 2021

Denmark

Formation

3-4-2-1

Predicted Starting 11

Schmeichel (GK), Vestergaard, Kjaer, Christensen, Maehle, Delaney, Hojbjerg, Larsen, Damsgaard, Braithwaite, Dolberg

Injuries/ Suspensions

Eriksen

Betting

England, playing in their home stadium are favourites to win in normal time with odds of 7/10.

The odds of the game going to extra time are 12/5.

Denmark to pull off an upset within 90 minutes are 4/1.

Score Prediction

Although many Irish fans will wish differently, this looks to be the end of the road for Denmark. They will be outmuscled and outclassed by this strong English side.

The Danes will put up a fight and they will finally break England’s clean sheet record, but it won’t be enough. Kasper Schmeichel will be kept busy by Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling at the other end.

Expect the game to end after 90 mins with England heading into the final with a 2-1 win.

Gareth Southgate is urging his England side to end their semi-final hoodoo by beating Denmark and reaching their first final since 1966.

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) July 5, 2021

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This be the third quarter-final of the European Championships and RTE 2 will be showing the match at 17:00, today, Saturday 3rd July, and on RTE Player.

Denmark will have a slightly longer journey to reach the Olympic Stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan for the match.

The Czech Republic is now the lowest-ranked team remaining at the Euros being 40^th in the FIFA World Rankings. But with the magic this team has created in the competition already rank does not matter.

The Czechs produced the upset of the tournament by beating the Netherlands 2-0 in the Round of 16. They will be relying on striker Patrik Schick to continue his great form in front of the goal as he aims for the tournament’s golden boot.

Patrik Schick for the Czech Republic:

1⃣5⃣
3⃣0⃣#EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/wCmeJV49zQ

— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) June 27, 2021

Denmark have been the team that every neutral has supported in this competition and they also have the talent and quality to garner that support.

After narrowly making it out of their group on the last day, they comprehensively beat Wales in the Round of 16, 4-0. This team likes to attack scoring nine goals in their last three games, Tomas Vaclik will be busy in the Czech goal.

The last time this pair faced each other was a friendly in 2016 which ended 1-1. Both teams struggle to dominate in this fixture with three of their last four games ending in draws.

Denmark and Czech Republic both like to have rigid defenses with strong ball winners in the attack. This game will come down to a little spark of creativity that can break open a backline.

Predicted Line-ups

Czech Republic

Formation

4-2-3-1

Predicted Starting 11

Vaclik (GK), Coufal, Boril, Celustka, Kalas, Holes, Soucek, Masopust, Darida, Sevcik, Schick

Injuries/Suspensions

Pavlenka

RESULT

Did you see that coming?

Holeš & Schick on target as the Czech Republic book their place in the quarter-finals
Netherlands exit after defeat in the round of 16#EURO2020

— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) June 27, 2021

Denmark

Formation

3-4-2-1

Predicted Starting 11

Schmeichel (GK), Vestergaard, Kjaer, Christensen, Maehle, Delaney, Hojbjerg, Wass, Poulsen, Braithwaite, Damsgaard

Injuries/Suspensions

Cornelius, Eriksen

Betting

Denmark is the clear favorite in this tie with odds of 11/10 to win after 90 mins.

The odds of this game needing extra time are 21/10.

The Czech Republic is the underdog with odds of 11/4 to win.

Score Prediction

Both teams have made it further in the competition than they would have hoped to be, so be sure that neither of them will want to lose this. Nerves will be high, and this might turn into a slow and cautious game.

At least extra time will be needed to split the two teams with Denmark having the advantage of just a bit more experience. A low-scoring game that will end 1-0 to Denmark after 120 minutes.

One of these sides will make the Euro semifinals:

Denmark
Czech Republic

Incredible pic.twitter.com/Lb3NnRm4fR

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) June 27, 2021

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Belgium, Denmark, Finland, and Russia will go head-to-head to determine who goes through.

This is Finland’s first-ever major tournament and they face two former winners in Denmark and Russia and a strong Belgian side.

BELGIUM

Belgium has chosen a squad filled with players in their primes.

Their 26-man team entering the tournament is the oldest at an average age of 29.3.

Furthermore, their squad is the most internationally experienced, with over 50 caps per player on average.

Nice graph from @RahulIyer32. England are one of the youngest squads at Euro 2020, but have totalled the most minutes over a long season. 10 – 11 players near or above the 'likely knackered' threshold. Belgium are peak squad age, with a much fresher team than most top sides pic.twitter.com/V0GCafQsmY

— Sean Fitzsimons (@seand_f) June 2, 2021

Belgium’s world-class individuals will have the world in awe once again this year.

However, an ageing defence may put a roadblock in their chances at glory.

Regardless, a side that includes Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku will strike fear into the hearts of the opposition.

The presence of Thibaut Courtois between the sticks will offer safe hands while Timothy Castagne will offer the side an extra man out wide.

The Belgians squad is stacked and they should have minimal problems getting out of Group B.

DENMARK

Denmark will provide the Belgians with their biggest challenge in the group stage with world-class talents of their own lining up for the Danes this summer.

Kasper Schmeichel will act as the impenetrable wall behind the reliable Andreas Christensen.

Pierre-Emile Højbjerg will work tirelessly to protect the backline while Christian Eriksen will be the side’s playmaker.

RB Leipzig’s Yussuf Poulsen and Barcelona’s Martin Braithwaite offer options in attack.

All three of their games will be played in Parken Stadium, Copenhagen and the home advantage could help them when they need it most.

FINLAND

Finland was one of the surprise packages in the qualifying phase, beating out Greece and Bosnia & Herzegovina to a place in Euro 2020.

The side boasts a veteran squad filled with talents from foreign leagues.

Bayer Leverkusen’s Lukas Hradecky will offer a safe pair of hands in goal.

In addition to this, Finnish-Irish star Daniel O’Shaugnessy will form part of the side’s three-man defence.

31-year-old Teemu Pukki will lead the line for the Eagle-Owls with Glen Kamara and captain Tim Sparv occupying the midfield.

The side has upset World Cup winners France in the last year and could offer an upset in the group.

RUSSIA

2018 World Cup hosts Russia round off the teams in Group B.

The World Cup quarterfinalists will compete for one of the two automatic spots in the group but will be without some of their core players from the World Cup run.

Goalkeeper Anton Shunin will hope to replicate Igor Akinfeev’s performances on the world stage but with only three selected centre-backs to protect him.

Mário Fernandes will offer Russia the creative outlet and width he has done for years on the right-hand side while the trio of Aleksander Golovin, Aleksey Miranchuk and Denis Cheryshev will look to light up the tournament alongside their captain Artem Dzyuba.

Russia also has a home advantage at Krestovsky Stadium, St. Petersburg for two of their games – Belgium and Finland.

Aside from the Belgians, this group could be one of the more competitive of the tournament.

Group B fixtures: Denmark v Finland, Saturday, 12th June 17:00. Belgium v Russia, Saturday 12th June 20:00. Finland v Russia, Wednesday 16th June 14:00. Denmark v Belgium, Thursday, 17th June 17:00. Russia v Denmark, Monday, 21st June 20:00. Finland v Belgium, Monday 21st June 20:00.

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