World Cup Qualifiers: Switzerland vs. Italy Preview, Odds, Prediction

Switzerland and Italy will have another meeting following the recent EURO 2020, only this time, they meet in Basel, at St. Jakob Park. In that past game, Italy was more than confident against the rivals outplaying them in pretty much all the aspects of play. Later on Azzurri became the champions, while Switzerland played one hell of a football, even eliminating France in a memorable contest, before falling to Spain in the quarterfinals. All that is archived now, with the new chapter ahead of these nations, and this match will be one very interesting episode in it.

Preview

Switzerland (+300) has a perfect chance to improve their prospects for advancing to the World Cup directly. Italy has 10 points, four more than Murat Yakin’s side, who played only two games, unlike Italy with four. With a victory in this event, Switzerland is halfway toward fulfilling its goal.

While all other teams had competitive matches in the past three days, the Swiss crew played with Greece one friendly game, winning it, 2-1. A big problem for Yakin will be the absence of his two biggest stars, Xhaka and Shaqiri, who are out, and that will definitely have a negative impact on the field.

Like always, Switzerland plays tough football, with lots of running, and is focused on counter-attacks. Their previous four games saw goals on both ends, and seven of the past nine were with over 2.5 goals.

Italy (-110) was caught sleeping by Bulgaria in Florence on Thursday night, allowing the guests to get back home with one point, 1-1. Even though the Azzurri extended their row of invincibility to 35 contests, this was a bitter pill to swallow.

But on the other side, we really do believe that Roberto Mancini’s boys will respond almost immediately. Their confidence is high after beating England at Wembley in the finals, and one unexpected result won’t change that.

The game against Bulgaria was the fourth in a row with the Italians allowing a goal, which is a surprise considering their fantastic defense.

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As said, Switzerland is without Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri, two of the vital players of this unit, and that’s going to hurt Yakin. Mario Gavranovic is also out, as well as Loris Benito.

It is expected to see Chiellini in the lineup, replacing Acerbi, who played against Bulgaria. Other than that, the Italians are lock and loaded.

Head to Head Games

The match at EURO took place in Rome, and the hosts won, 3-0, smashing the Swiss team. Locatelli, with two and Ciro Immobile, with one goal, took down the rivals.

Prior to that matchup, these nations didn’t meet for 10 years, with the most recent game between them dating back to 2010, 1-1 in Switzerland.

Prediction

Switzerland is wounded, without two of its best players, and this is a perfect chance for the Italians not only to redeem for the mistake against Bulgaria. But not only that, as Mancini’s guys have a fine opportunity to gain a big advantage over their biggest rivals for the top spot in the group. Therefore, we will suggest betting on Italy’s victory. The odds are fine, and the circumstances are working in their favor.

Pick: Italy -110