The final game of group 2! Switzerland hosts Belgium for a place in the Semi Final. Both sides are safe from relegation but will be competing for the top place in this final fixture. Currently Belgium are top of the group by 3 pts with a perfect 3/3 win record but a Swiss win 1-0 or any win by 2 goals would see Switzerland winning the group. Belgium are coming off a 2-0 win over Iceland where they were frustrated but 2 second half goals by Lukaku’s replacement Batshuayi done the job. Switzerland are coming off a shocking loss in a friendly game against Qatar at home 0-1 so they will have a lot of improvements to make if they want to have a shot here. Belgium won the first fixture at home 2-1 but they were well and truly tested and expect nothing else than that here.
Key Facts
Switzerland have 3 tied top scorers in 2018 in Dzemaili Zuber and Seferovic with 3 goals, Shaqiri Xhaka and Rodriguez have 2 each. Many different weapons.
Since the start of World Cup, Switzerland have only kept 1 clean sheet in 9 games including friendlies. They’ve not kept one for 4 straight games.
Switzerland have not lost a competitive home game (no friendlies) since 2014 when they lost to England. 11 unbeaten games – 10W 1D.
Switzerland have been out of form recently having lost 3 of their last 4 games.
Switzerland have a 3W 3D 4L record against League A opposition in their last 10 matches against such. 2 of those wins were against Iceland however.
Belgium have scored 66 goals in 20 games under Roberto Martinez. Ridiculous 3.3 goals per game.
Belgium are unbeaten in 10 straight away games. 8W 2D.
Belgium have won in their last visit to Switzerland 1-2 in 2016.
With Lukaku out, Michy Batshuayi is Belgium’s main striker and his record for Belgium in 2018 is 7 goals in 9 games. Reliable.
After his blazing hot start, Belgium’s main man Eden Hazard has been goalless in 7 games in a row for club and country. Drought.
Belgium have a 5W 3D 2L record against League A opposition in their last 10 matches against such.
Belgium have only conceded 2 goals in their last 6 games keeping 4 clean sheets. Improvement.
Team News
Switzerland: Switzerland will have to go without their veteran RB Lichtsteiner therefore expect Michael Lang to fill in for him. Otherwise it’s a full strength side that they have for this game with the likes of Shaqiri, Xhaka, Seferovic, Rodriguez all available.
Belgium: Belgium are without Kevin de Bruyne, Jan Vertonghen, Moussa Dembele and more than likely Romelu Lukaku with injuries and also Yannick Carrasco with passport issues meaning nearly half of the first team is out which is a big blow for Belgium. Against Iceland, we saw Batshuayi start up front, Thorgan Hazard replace Carrasc and Boyata start in place of Vertonghen and these are the likeliest players to start again for the injured stars.
Betting Tips and Predictions
We’re looking at a quite intense game here. Belgium are very depleted with injuries and it showed against Iceland where it took them 65 mins to break Iceland down. This injury bug for Belgium gives Switzerland a HUGE chance to advance. The first game was very tough for Belgium and it is expected to be even tougher here given that it’s away. Switzerland will be eager to bounce back from that loss to Qatar in their recent friendly and for that reason we’d rather back the Swiss here. 1X at 1.75 looks good, we can’t see Switzerland losing this game. You can ever back a more risky 0.0 Switzerland handicap at 2.40. We anticipate a number of bookings here too given the importance of this game. Realistically this looks like a 1-1/2-1 game so it’s best to stay away from goal overs, instead of that, BTTS is the better goals bet here.
Match Odds (TonyBet)
Switzerland Win – 3.60
Draw – 3.40
Belgium Win – 2.07
KICK OFF – 18th November 2018 – 7:45pm UK Time
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