On Tuesday evening, Switzerland and the Czech Republic will square off against one another at Kybunpark in League A Group 2 action.
Both teams are now in danger of being demoted from the topflight of the UEFA Nations League.
At the weekend, Jaroslav Silhavy’s team was defeated 4-0 by a team from Portugal that was also from the Iberian Peninsula, while the Rossocrociati pulled off an unexpected victory in Spain, winning 2-1.
Our Match Preview: Switzerland vs Czech Republic
Switzerland beat Luis Enrique’s finals-chasing team 2-1 on matchday five to secure consecutive victories over Portugal and Spain.
Manuel Akanji and Breel Embolo scored either side of Jordi Alba’s equalizer to harm Spain’s first-place dreams and strengthen Rossocrociati’s survival chances.
A draw would be enough for Switzerland to avoid relegation to League B and secure a fourth consecutive tournament in League A.
Murat Yakin’s team started the 2017 Nations League season with three straight losses, but the Rossocrociati have cranked up the heat when it counts most, and their destiny is in their own hands.
Switzerland has lost only two of their past 15 home matches in all competitions, but they have suspension issues ahead of Tuesday’s meeting.
Switzerland started their Nations League campaign with three consecutive losses, and Silhavy’s team did the same against Portugal in the last matchday.
Diogo Dalot’s brace plus goals from Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Jota helped Portugal to a comfortable victory. Patrik Schick missed a penalty, but it would not have made much of a difference.
The Czech Republic will be demoted to League B with anything less than three points in Switzerland, having lost their past three games without scoring and allowing eight goals.
Silhavy’s team has not kept a clean sheet in seven games across all competitions, winning just once. Their earlier three Nations League away games have all ended in loss.
The visitors’ sole victory in the 2022-23 Nations League so far was a 2-1 win against Switzerland on the first matchday. Since the teams’ first encounter in 1994, the Rossocrociati have never won this duel.
Our Team News: Switzerland vs Czech Republic
Switzerland and Manchester City center-back Manuel Akanji was sent off after scoring the first goal against Spain and will be one of two Rossocrociati players not taking part due to an accumulation of bookings.
Goalkeeper Jonas Omlin, who was brought in as a sub but was also reprimanded for an infraction on the bench, will not be playing today, but Yann Sommer reclaimed his position in goal for the victory against Spain and was expected to start.
Fabian Schar will start at left back in place of Akanji, while Ricardo Rodriguez was substituted off at halftime in the most recent game due to sickness but was already struggling with it before the international break.
Czech Republic center defender Jakub Brabec went down with an injury after 22 minutes of play against Portugal, thus Ondrej Kudela will get the nod in Silhavy’s defense this time around.
Petr Sevcik, a midfielder, was able to come off the bench last time out after recovering from an illness. He might potentially push Alex Kral for the starting position, and Silhavy has a plethora of attacking alternatives.
While Schick’s penalty miss should not affect his chances for back-to-back starts, Antonin Barak may be worried about losing his starting spot on the wing as Vaclav Cerny fights for a return.
- Switzerland possible starting lineup: Sommer, Widmer, Elvedi, Schar, Rodriguez, Freuler, Xhaka, Sow, Shaqiri, Embolo, Vargas.
- Czech Republic possible starting lineup: Vaclik, Kudela, Zima, Jemelka, Coufal, Sevcik, Soucek, Zeleny, Cerny, Schick, Hlozek.
Our Prediction: Switzerland 2-0 Czech Republic
Even with Schick back in the lineup, scoring goals has not been the Czech Republic’s strong suit, and without Akanji, that trend is not expected to change.
We can only expect the Rossocrociati to keep their League A status at the cost of their opponents after they hold the Czechs’ shot-shy attack and allow Switzerland to push forward and give Silhavy’s side all sorts of issues as the visitors go all out to win.