While all eyes will be on what Brazil do in the FIFA World Cup 2022 on Friday evening, the bigger game in the concluding matches in Group G is the other one as Switzerland take on Serbia, potentially for the second spot in the group.
The equation here is pretty simple. Serbia have to win the match whereas Switzerland are likely to go through with a draw but that would need Brazil to avoid defeat in the other match when they take on Cameroon.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on the ITV 4 channel in the UK. The build-up to this one begins at 6.15pm and kick off comes along at 7pm.
Serbia
I think a lot more was expected of Serbia than we have seen in this tournament. They were surprisingly timid against Brazil in their opening game. While looking to keep the goal difference respectable is understandable, you would still have thought a team with the attacking potential they have would have delivered more than they did. That attack came to the party against Cameroon last time out but then their defence let them down.
I suspect that defence was exposed as regularly as it was in the second half by Cameroon because of the relentless chasing they had to do against Brazil and then back that up in insane heat barely four days later. That defence will certainly need to tighten up for this match but if it can do that then you would imagine there are enough goals in this Serbia side for them to pick up the win they need to most likely progress to the next stage of the competition.
Switzerland
Switzerland went into this tournament looking to prove their worth and come out of the group and despite a couple of fairly unconvincing displays they are in a great position to do that. They got the three points in their opening game, which meant that they were always in control of their own destiny and although that was followed by a defeat to Brazil, they still know that if they avoid defeat in this match they are likely to progress to a round of 16 clash with Portugal.
Switzerland have been hit and miss in the attacking areas of the pitch. The longer the match with Cameroon went on in their opening game the better they looked but some of that was their opponents weakening. They offered very little as an attacking force against Brazil and in both matches there were times where their defence looked a little light. Although they are in control of their own destiny, they need to work out whether to go for the win or play for the draw and not get caught between the two.
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Team News
Serbia coach Dragan Stojkovic has confirmed that striker Dusan Vlahovic is fit for this match but he has refused to share whether the Juventus man would start the game. He might look to shake his defence up for this one.
Switzerland rest Xherdan Shaqiri for the previous match against Brazil but his guile and creativity could be utilised from the off in this one. Denis Zakaria is still waiting for a first appearance and might be used to shore up the midfield.
Betting
We’ve seen a few of these matches earlier in the tournament where a goal is going to be so impactful on the events and in the main they have all had over 2.5 goals as a result. That was the case with Ecuador vs Senegal, Mexico vs Saudi Arabia, Japan vs Spain and Costa Rica vs Germany and we saw the goals flow as soon as the opening one went in. We are in exactly the same position here and I expect the goals to come along just as regularly.
Usually after being carved wide open in the previous game, Serbia might adopt a more cautious and defensive approach but they don’t really have that option available to them because they have to win the game and might need to win it by a few goals depending on how the other game is going. If Serbia take the lead Switzerland will have to score to stay in the tournament and might need more than one themselves. Both teams showed frailty defensively in their match against Cameroon so you would imagine their attack will be able to test out the opposing defence so I like over 2.5 goals in this one.
Tips
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