A busy day of football on Saturday begins with the second game in Group A of the Euro 2016 tournament when Albania make their major competition debut when they take on Switzerland in Lens. There are a few derbies in the group stage of this tournament and Albania vs Switzerland is the first of them with just 500 miles between the two nations and plenty of connections not least in the potential for brothers to be opposing each other in the game! This shouldn’t lack competitiveness.
This is the first time Albania will have played in major competition so while it will be a big occasion for the country it is likely to be a nervy one for their players and they will have to manage those nerves if they are to put on a performance worthy of the occasion.
With an Italian manager it is probably no surprise that Albania are well drilled defensively but having been whipping boys for so long 20 or so years that improving defensively had to happen if they were ever to be competitive. The acid test will be whether they can offer enough going forward to make an impact.
Key Man
Lorik Cana has Premier League experience behind him and the captain of Albania will need to organise his defence and lead by example if his side are to go well here. He also needs to manage the emotions of his side on what is a huge day for them.
Switzerland were one of the better nations in Europe a couple of years ago and went to the World Cup as dark horses to have a good tournament. They got as far as the last 16 which was fair enough but they haven’t kicked on from there. That might have done them a favour though as expectations might not be as high here as they could have been.
Historically Switzerland have had success based on a solid defensive structure with good protection given to them from midfield and I’m sure their style will remain unaltered but whether they have the quality in their ranks to open sides up if Xherdan Shaqiri isn’t on a good day remains to be seen. That would be the concern.
Key Man
Stoke midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri has played for the biggest clubs in the world on some of the biggest stages in the game and he still has the talent to play at that level. This is a chance for him to showcase how good he is and maybe establish a move back to a European giant.
Team News
Albania coach Gianni de Biasi is expected to assess the fitness of Taulant Xhaha, one half of the Xhaka brothers with Granit likely to be in the Switzerland midfield and potentially opposing him here. He will also have to decent on whether to pick the in-form Armando Sadiku or leave him on the bench.
Switzerland will be without Josep Drmic who has been ruled out of the tournament and there is no doubt that is a big blow to the side. Gokhan Inler was left out after barely featuring in Leicester’s title winning campaign. That means Stephan Lichtsteiner will skipper the side.
Head to Head
The two sides have met on six previous occasions with all Albania have to show from those matches is a solitary draw back in 2002. Since then they have lost three times but only once has that been by more than one goal so they are largely competitive as you would expect in a derby of this kind.
Betting
They say betting on derbies can be difficult and with this being the biggest match in Albania’s football history I guess this one could be harder than most which isn’t particularly helpful but the fact it is a derby with so many emotions at stake should ensure it is competitive from start to finish.
Given the size of the occasion I was tempted to take a look at the booking points and cards but there isn’t a line on them at the time of writing so I am forced to go at this one from a second angle.
In the last 18 months or so Albania have kept within a goal of Italy, Austria and Portugal and they’ve held France so they can be hard to beat at the best of times let alone when they are playing a nearby country so while I think Switzerland will just about have enough of a cutting edge to win this game I certainly don’t think this will be the wide open winning margin it might have been 20-30 years ago.
I expect a fairly low scoring game between two sides who based themselves on their defensive shape but when the final whistle blows, much like the opening game of the tournament, I think there will be a go between the two sides.
Tips
WON – Back Switzerland to win by 1 goal for a 3/10 stake at 3.40 with Bet365
Back it here:
Our partners at Betfair have a special offer for ALL CUSTOMERS on this match. Place a bet on a first, last or anytime goalscorer and if that player scores a second goal you’ll get paid out at DOUBLE the odds! Click the banner below to claim this great offer!
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2016
