The group stages have flown by, and we’re now very close to determining which sides will contest the knockout rounds. France were the first side to qualify for the knockout stages, and they’re priced at evens to progress from the group with three wins. Switzerland are sat second in the group, but a Romanian victory against Albania, with a 2 goal swing would see them drop to third.
France have two wins from two games so far, yet neither were particularly convincing. Didier Deschamps is still unsure as to his best team and formation. One thing he is sure about though is that he must pick Dimitri Payet. The West Ham man has been the creative influence in both of France’s games so far and is also the current tournament top goalscorer with 2. At odds of 9/2 to score first, he could well do it again. Antoine Griezmann is one of Deschamps’ dilemmas. The Atletico Madrid star has had a superb season and scored after coming off the bench against Albania. He’s scored 10 goals for France after coming off the bench, in comparison to the 3 that he’s scored when he’s started. He’s 33/20 to score anytime and good value if he comes on late in the second half. The French team will have happy memories of playing in Lille. They’ve won all four of their games there and haven’t conceded in the city for over 100 years. You can get a France win without conceding at 17/10.
The head-to-head record between the sides is fairly even. Switzerland have 12 wins and 9 draws against the French, but crucially they’ve never won a competitive encounter against their continental neighbours. A Swiss win, priced at 17/4, will see them top the group ahead of France, but they’ve been unconvincing so far. Their finishing cost them dearly against Romania. They had 19 shots on target with 9 of them off target. Haris Seferovic was the main culprit, missing two clear cut opportunities, and this game could see a battle between two of the most wasteful strikers in the competition, as Olivier Giroud is likely to line up for France. Xherdan Shaqiri doesn’t seem to be interested in playing for Switzerland, and a rift between him and Granit Xhaka has split the camp.
Match Prediction
Although Switzerland haven’t yet qualified for the knockout stage, they’re almost certain to make it there, meaning that there’s little to play for in this game. France are still searching for that nerveless performance that’s eluded them so far, whilst Switzerland will hope to be more clinical in front of goal. A draw beckons at 7/4, with a 1-1 scoreline at 19/4.