The second set of matches in Group A of Euro2016 get underway later on Wednesday with Romania vs Switzerland in the first of the two games in the group on the day. These two sides endured different results first up with Switzerland edging out Albania while Romania went down late on to Dimitri Payet’s brilliance.
Both sides will be looking for a win here. A win for Switzerland will guarantee their qualification for the next round but should Romania win this they will be right back in the mix to qualify themselves.
Depending on your point of view you could either argue that Romania were unlucky to lose to a piece of brilliance late on against France or they deserved to lose because they offered little against a French defence which looked there for the taking throughout the 90 minutes.
Romania had a golden chance to go ahead early on but Bogdan Stancu could only head straight at Hugo Lloris and until the penalty they got that was pretty much it from an attacking point of view for the Romanians and that is clearly the area they need to improve in to go deep in this tournament.
Key Man
Nicolae Stanciu threatened to get into good areas against France and if he can push forward and play off Stancu in this match he might get some joy or set something up for others. Romania need a focal point to play through in attack and he could well be the man.
You would have to say Switzerland were largely uninspiring against Albania in their opening match. Having led 1-0 very early after a keeper error they never really threw the kitchen sink at Albania even though they were playing against 10 men for well over 45 minutes.
In the end they looked a little one paced to use a racing term and while they clearly have some fine players they never really gave off the impression that they were confident or composed. It was a strange performance and I’ll be interested to see if they have improved for the run to use another racing cliché.
Key Man
Switzerland need a spark to unlock the door and that has to be Xherdan Shaqiri. He is the one man who can do the unlikely to break down a stubborn defence which Switzerland are likely to be up against here. He is capable of that bit of magic that Switzerland will need.
Team News
Switzerland aren’t going to be forced into any chances for this match but they might choose to freshen things up a little bit. Hans Seferovic couldn’t finish his dinner in the first match so he could be vulnerable if the Swiss do make changes.
Razvan Rat has come in for a bit of criticism since the opening match for Romania so the veteran could be taken out of the firing line here. Steliano Filip could be a natural replacement should the Romanians choose to go down that route.
Head to Head
Of the 12 previous matches between these two sides Romania have won five and Switzerland four with three draws. Romania have won two of the last three, both by a 1-0 scoreline and that could be a taster of what we can expect here.
Betting
I’m not too keen on anything in this match. I don’t think it will be a high scoring classic that’s for sure. I’m not convinced Romania can attack too well and they’ll probably find the Switzerland defence much harder to break down than the French one should have been.
Going the other way though I’m not a whole lot more convinced by the Swiss in attacking areas after their opening match either. A draw certainly wouldn’t do Switzerland any harm in this match so I’m not expecting them to set up to be expansive or open up in any way.
No massive bets standout here. Under 2.5 is a bit short even though I don’t expect goals so in the end I’ve decided to have a tiny punt on no goalscorer and largely leave my money in my pocket and wait for the better betting opportunities to come.
Tips
Back No goalscorer for a 1/10 stake at 7.50 with William Hill
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