Switzerland vs Spain prediction: EUROPE: UEFA Nations League – League A betting tips on match 2024-09-07 18:45.
[p]The second round of UEFA Nations League (UNL) action sees Switzerland take on European champions Spain for what promises to be an enticing clash. The first round of Group A4 fixtures played last Thursday saw the Swiss suffer a 2-0 defeat to Denmark, so they’ll need to be right on it from the get go if they’re to turn the tide against a side they’ve triumphed against just twice across the 25 H2Hs they have contested (D5, L18). [/p]
[p]But it should be mentioned that Switzerland triumphed the last time they faced the Spaniards, in the last chapter of this competition in 2022/23! Back then, the Swiss beat Spain 2-1 to end the Spaniards eight-game unbeaten run (inc. friendlies) although they were only able to maintain their spot in their UNL group whilst La Roja went on to win the tournament! [/p]
[p]Winning is something current UNL holders Spain have become accustomed to in recent times, boasting an almost-perfect nine victories from a 11-game unbeaten run (D2) – a streak which includes their famous UEFA 2024 European Championship finals win over England. A key to this has been a machine-like ability to score goals, but this came to a surprising end in a drab goalless draw to Serbia on Thursday, after having failed to score only once in the 15 competitive fixtures beforehand.[/p]
[p]But it’s not just in the striking department where La Roja are strong. This Spanish side currently find themselves on a eight-game unbeaten streak on foreign soil (W7, D1) and having also not conceded more than one goal within a single competitive game since March 2023, it’s highly likely we won’t see the ball in the back of the Spanish net too often here![/p]
[p]Players to watch: Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji will be looking to impact both ends of the pitch after scoring in Switzerland’s win over Spain in 2022. He’ll have to help contain Spain’s Lamine Yamal, who has been in sumptuous form in league action and now only the legendary Lionel Messi (A5) has provided more assists in the first four games of a La Liga campaign than the Barcelona wonderkid (A4). [/p]
[p]Hot stat: Only once in their H2H history have Spain failed to score against Switzerland![/p]
[p][i]Written by Luke Bridle[/i][/p]