NORTHERN IRELAND travel to Switzerland knowing anything short of a win could deal a fatal blow to their World Cup hopes.
The nations fought out a goalless draw in Belfast last month and neither side have been known for scoring goals recently – the Swiss haven't scored in their last two games and Northern Ireland have failed to score in six of their last seven World Cup qualifiers, although they did net four in the other game with a win in Lithuania.
Switzerland boast an outstanding home record too, particularly in World Cup qualifiers. You need to go back 13 years for when they last lost one, that's 17 games and counting.
Ian Baraclough's squad has been decimated by injury and illness too. Corry Evans , Gavin Whyte, Shayne Lavery, Ali McCann, Michael Smith and Trevor Carson are all missing and there is a doubt over Jonny Evans too.
It would have been a hard enough assignment against the Swiss – who will be without Granit Xhaka themselves – but this has turned into a Herculean task for the Ulster side.
How the bookies view it
You won't get rich backing the Swiss on their own – 4/11 with BetVictor is the best current price for a home win. Northern Ireland are 11/1 with William Hill and the draw is 4.1 with SBK.
Recent head to heads
The nations drew 0-0 in Belfast as can be seen below after home keeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell saved Haris Seferovic's penalty. The sides have played five times and there has been a win apiece and three draws.
Players to watch
Haris Seferovic may have been thwarted in Northern Ireland, but the Benfica man is a massive threat. he's 7/5 to score with bet365.
Northern Ireland will need Rangers veteran Steven Davis to put in a big shift and he's popped up with plenty of vital goals in his career. He's a huge 17/1 with Paddy Power to score anytime in Geneva.
Anything else catch the eye?
The Swiss haven't conceded a goal in their last three World Cup qualifiers and they could extend that to four on Saturday night.
It's hard to see an Irish side who struggle to score at the best of times penetrating a solid Swiss backline and the 20/23 with BetVictor for the hosts to win to nil is the obvious conclusion to this encounter.
Switzerland really should have won in Belfast and they will likely go for a quick kill here. They are clearly too short to back on their own, so take a decent price os 21/10 with McBookie.com of the Swiss to win both halves.
This World Cup match between Switzerland and Northern Ireland will be played on Oct 9, 2021 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Switzerland vs Northern Ireland prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.