The quarter finals of Euro 2020 get underway on Friday with the first match seeing Switzerland, the conquerors of the world champions France in the previous round, taking on Spain over in Saint Petersburg.
These two teams were a part of probably the best day of action in European Championship history on Monday and hopefully they can continue the entertainment here despite the lure of a semi-final spot being so big.
Where to watch
This match will be shown live on the ITV1 channel in the UK. The build-up to the match begins at 4.15pm with the kick off out in Russia coming at 5pm UK time.
Switzerland
I have to hold my hands up and admit I didn’t see Switzerland doing what they did against France. They deserve full credit for their win though because although apart from 20 minutes when the French were unplayable, the Swiss fully deserved their victory and had Ricardo Rodriguez scored his penalty they might have won it by even more in normal time rather than having to go through the nervousness of penalty.
It was the first time we’ve really seen the Swiss open up and take the game to a major side at a tournament like this so complete credit goes to them. Hopefully they adopt the same approach here and look to grasp the prize on offer rather than go back into their shell and look to crawl towards the semi-final. The good thing for Switzerland is there are still one or two players yet to make their mark on the tournament as well. That certainly bodes well.
Spain
I think it is fair to say that we can put to bed the issues we had with Spain lacking a goal threat in the opening two matches of the tournament. Since then they have scored 10 times in two matches and missed a barrel load more chances on top. There has been a clear increase in quality from them by the match and if that trend continues here then they are going to be a very tough nut to crack. Their possession based style is certainly having a good impact on the tournament.
There is no getting away from the fact that their defence is an accident waiting to happen though. Good sides, ones who are standout contenders for these things, don’t let their opponents back into a match when they lead 3-1 with a few minutes left. That is something Spain need to sort out before it costs them but they look perfectly capable of outscoring everyone which will be great to watch for us neutrals watching on.
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Team News
Switzerland will be without their captain Granit Xhaka for this match. He was sensational against France but picked up a second yellow in that match so he is suspended for this one which is a huge blow.
Spain have returned no fresh injury troubles, or not released them publicly anyway, so Luis Enrique looks to have a full squad to choose from. Ferran Torres made a big impression off the bench against Croatia and might have forced his way into the starting XI here.
Betting
I expect to see goals in this match. The one thing the other night showed is Spain can’t just look to consolidate any lead they get because their defence just isn’t good enough. We also saw that Switzerland can be quite dangerous in attack when they put their mind to it so confidence has to be high that they can find the net as well as Spain. The only concern for Switzerland is that they put in a titanic effort against France and going again four days later might not be easy.
That is why I’ve decided to go with over 2.5 goals in this one rather than both teams to score. If the Switzerland legs are heavy then Spain are the sort of side to put them to the sword and could easily find the net on three occasions themselves. All things being equal though Switzerland will get chances against this Spanish defence so even though we are heading towards the business end of this tournament I still fancy a few goals here.
Tips
Back Over 2.5 goals for a 3/10 stake at 1.95 with BetVictor
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