MICK McCARTHY'S Republic of Ireland return wasn't met with much enthusiasm but he has made a decent start to his second stint as manager.
The Irish remain unbeaten on his watch after four games and while two of those matches were against the minnows of Gibraltar, McCarthy led his side to a superb 1-1 draw in Denmark.
Plenty of fans fell out of love with former boss Martin O'Neill because his style of play brought tears to their eyes and thrills have been thin on the ground since McCarthy's return as well.
In two games against Gibraltar, the Republic managed to score just three goals, underlining the lack of firepower at their disposal.
Their home win over Georgia also came virtue of just a single strike but the Irish have been rock solid at the back, conceding just once since McCarthy's return.
The draw against Denmark was no mean feat, considering the Danes thumped Ireland 5-1 at the Aviva in the play-offs for the last World Cup, a result that signalled the beginning of the end for O'Neill.
It has put them in with a good chance of a top-two finish in their Euro 2020 qualifying group but Ireland need to follow it up with another good result against Switzerland.
The Swiss currently sit third in Group D, six adrift of Ireland, but that's only because they have played two games fewer. Like Ireland, they drew with Denmark but it was a game they should have won as Switzerland let a three-goal lead slip at home in the last six minutes of a thrilling 3-3 draw.
I tipped a stalemate with both teams to score in that game and never imagined it would come up until the Danes somehow came back from the dead to snatch a point.
It would be even more surprising if this game had anywhere near as much goalmouth action, given Ireland's record since McCarthy took over. A better gauge would be Switzerland's 2-0 win in Georgia in their other group game or the 0-0 snorefest they served up with England in the Nations League finals.
The bookies agree as under 2.5 goals is a best 51/100 with Marathonbet, so sadly there's not much value to be had backing this game to be tight. Even under 1.5 goals is just 8/5 with Unibet and I'd be wary of tipping that as this could easily end up a 1-1 draw or 2-0 to Switzerland.
What does catch my eye is a bet on the Irish drawing a blank, which is 6/5 with William Hill. That looks decent value, although McCarthy's side will always be a threat from set-pieces.
Despite being at home, Ireland are 3-1 outsiders with Bet365 while the Swiss are 23/20 with Betfred and the draw a best 113/50 with Marathonbet. To increase those odds a little, try Switzerland to win by a one-goal margin, which is 11/4 with SportNation. A 0-0 draw also shouldn't be discounted and it's available at a generous 6/1 with BetVictor.
The Swiss will be missing playmaker Xherdan Shaqiri, who has featured just twice off the bench for Liverpool this season as he seeks form and fitness. Steven Zuber, a regular scorer at international level, is also missing through injury and that will make it harder for them to break through a well-drilled Irish defence.
But they have enough talent in their squad to get the job done, most notably in the shape of Benfica striker Haris Seferovic, who scored a hat-trick against Belgium in the Nations League. Seferovic looks the best bet in the anytime scorer market, even though he's the favourite at a best 23/10 with Betway.
This Euro 2020 match between Republic of Ireland and Switzerland will be played on Sep 5, 2019 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Republic of Ireland vs Switzerland prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
In December 2020 we sadly 
AS an Irish supporter who will be at the game I hope you’re wrong! Nice write up though and a 0 – 0 draw would be an ok result.
With the crowd behind you, there might just be a happy ending for Ireland. However, like Scotland I fear you are cursed by the lack of a quality centre forward. Hope the boys in green prove me wrong
We’ve never had a ‘quality centre forward’ – always a defensive – midfield type game and I think McCarthy embodies the Irish style of play very well, he was after all on the best team we’ve ever had – 88 Euros and 90 World Cup. He was hired just to get us qualified for the Euros, then Stephen Kenny the former Dundalk Manager will take over. So I think we’ll get the job done tonight.
Well done to the Irish, even though they torpedoed two of my bets in the last five minutes. Looks like this group is going to the wire
Quite impressed by what I saw of the Swiss so a good result for the Irish.
If that Whelan thunderbolt had gone in it would have been some goal. Hearts will be hoping to see some of that.