Switzerland will look to continue their dominance in Group I on Sunday when they host Belarus. Murat Yakin’s side are the heavy favourites to win the tie, with the visiting side priced at 25/1 to win.
Switzerland
Yakin’s team are cruising towards European qualification and they currently lead Group I after six matches, with 14 points. Switzerland are unbeaten so far, winning four games, scoring seventeen and conceding just five. Burnley’s Zeki Amdouni has been the standout performer, scoring five goals so far and averaging a goal scored every 70 minutes.
Switzerland’s most recent qualifier was against Andorra in a comfortable 3-0 victory. It was pure domination from the first whistle and the Rossocrociati registered 85% possession, the opposition didn’t even have a single attempt at goal. However, Yakin’s side did struggle for creativity in the first half and the score was 0-0 at the break, before Cedric Itten scored in the 49th minute.
Belarus
Belarus sit three points above bottom placed Andorra and unless they complete a miraculous comeback, qualification will evade them. Carlos Alos Ferrer’s biggest problem has been in front of goal, with his side scoring only four times, and half of that tally occurred during their 2-1 win over Kosovo. However, they have actually been rather solid as a unit and other than the previous 5-0 loss to Switzerland, they’ve competed in some close encounters.
Last time out, they hosted Romania and held them to an impressive 0-0 draw. The visitors dominated the possession and attacking statistics in both halves, but they were unable to create any clear chances and Belarus deserve credit for that.
Verdict?
The tie will be won by Switzerland, but with Belarus’ resilience, it is important they strike early on. The quality in the Swiss squad is far superior and even if they rotate, they will have enough to win.
The final prediction is Switzerland 2-0 Belarus.
