Northern Ireland welcome Switzerland to Windsor Park for an international friendly on Friday night. With both countries looking to begin the year on a positive note, an entertaining free-scoring game is expected.
The hosts head into the international week full of confidence after securing promotion to League B in the UEFA Nations League, topping Group C3 with an unbeaten home record and sealing their spot with a 2-2 draw against Luxembourg in the final fixture.
Michael O’Neill’s men have been well-organized defensively, keeping three clean sheets in their last four matches. However, the draw in Luxembourg suggests a defensive frailty that could be exploited by attacking teams like Switzerland.
Switzerland endured a disastrous UEFA Nations League campaign, failing to win any of their six matches and suffered four defeats, including a 3-2 loss to Spain in their final group game. Their poor form saw them finish bottom of League A4, resulting in relegation to League B.
Murat Yakin’s men struggled defensively, failing to keep a clean sheet in their last five matches and conceding 12 goals in that run. However, they have shown some quality in attack, scoring in four of their last five matches.
How the bookies view it: Switzerland overwhelming favourites
The bookies have installed Switzerland as overwhelming favourites with BoyleSports offering 20/23 for a win. A victory for Northern Ireland is priced at 3/1 while a draw is set at odds of 9/4.
Head to head: Slight edge for Swiss
Switzerland have a 3-2 edge with three draws from eight previous matches against Northern Ireland. The Swiss claimed a 2-0 home victory in the 2022 Qatar World Cup qualifiers.
Players to watch: Resurgent Swiss attack
Switzerland’s attack has been improving, scoring five goals in their last three games. With nothing at stake in Belfast, top scorers Remo Freuler, Andi Zeqiri and Joel Monteiro should play with freedom and can ensure the visitors produce over 0.5 goals, which is priced at 1/5 with BoyleSports.
Northern Ireland have found the net in each of their last five home games, with Isaac Price scoring four. With support from Callum Marshall and Dale Taylor, the hosts could be set to produce over 0.5 goals at 4/7 with BoyleSports.
Probable line-ups
Captain Conor Bradley misses out for Northern Ireland through injury while Josh Magennis and Dion Charles were also not invited. Ciaron Brown, Isaac Price, Paul Smyth and Callum Marshall have all been included and are expected to start.
Gregor Kobel, Ricardo Rodriguez, Denis Zakaria, Breel Embolo and Ruben Vargas are all in the squad for Switzerland and in the line to start on Friday night. However, Renato Steffen, Nico Elvedi and Manuel Akanji all miss out.
Northern Ireland: Charles, McNair, Brown, Spencer, Hume, Saville, Thompson, Charles, Price, Marshall, Taylor
Switzerland: Kobel, Rodriguez, Comert, Zesiger, Amenda, Zakaria, Freuler, Sow, Embolo, Vargas, Ndoye
Anything else catch the eye?
Both teams have scored in Switzerland’s last three matches and a repeat is priced at 20/21 with BoyleSports. Three of their last five matches have produced over 3.5 goals, which is priced at 16/5 with BoyleSports, who are also offering odds of 6/5 for over 2.5 goals.
Four of Switzerland’s last five games have witnessed a goal in each half and this trend can be backed to continue at evens.
This International Friendly match between Northern Ireland and Switzerland will be played on and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Northern Ireland vs Switzerland prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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