Sports Mole previews Monday’s World Cup Qualifying – Europe clash between Switzerland and Slovenia, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Switzerland will be looking to strengthen their position at the top of their World Cup qualifying group when they welcome Slovenia to St Jakob-Park in Basel this Monday night.
The Swiss kicked off their campaign with a solid victory over Kosovo on Friday, while their upcoming opponents managed to secure an encouraging draw with Sweden.
Match preview
Switzerland are chasing their sixth successive World Cup appearance, and the Red Crosses have certainly made an encouraging start.
Breel Embolo was the star of the show against Kosovo, with the forward bagging two goals in a thumping 4-0 win.
Switzerland also enjoyed a series of good results before their World Cup qualifying campaign, winning three straight friendlies against Luxembourg, Mexico and the United States.
Not only did they win those games, but Murat Yakin’s men underlined their goalscoring abilities by rattling the net 11 times across those friendly encounters.
Slovenia, on the other hand, kicked off their qualifying campaign with an encouraging 2-2 home draw against Sweden.
Matjaz Kek’s men came back from behind twice and even bagged a 90th minute equaliser through Zan Vipotnik – a goal which could prove to be crucial later in the campaign.
Slovenia have not qualified for a World Cup since 2010, but the team will be quietly confident after making it to the most recent European Championships and even progressing to the last 16.
Looking ahead to their clash against Switzerland, Kek’s side will certainly fancy their chances, as Slovenia are unbeaten in four away games, including three straight competitive matches.
Switzerland World Cup Qualifying – Europe form:
W
Switzerland form (all competitions):
L D W W W W
Slovenia World Cup Qualifying – Europe form:
D
Slovenia form (all competitions):
D D W W W D
Team News
Switzerland have no fresh injuries to report, meaning they can field their strongest possible side on Monday night.
Embolo, who scored in each of his last four Swiss games, will be the man to watch; the Monaco forward boasts the highest number of goals in the squad, having rattled the net 20 times for his country.
The experienced Granit Xhaka is not far behind, scoring 14 times across his 138 appearances for Switzerland.
Slovenia, meanwhile, will have to contend without the injured Jon Gorenc Stankovic; the 29-year-old was forced to come off early for his club side Sturm Graz just before the international break.
Vipotnik, who grabbed Slovenia’s equaliser against Sweden, has now scored four goals in his last four games for club and country.
The Swansea City forward came off the bench to seal a point for his country on Friday; his impressive effort may earn him a starting place against Switzerland.
Switzerland possible starting lineup: Kobel; Widmer, Elvedi, Akanji, Rodriguez; Xhaka, Freuler, Rieder; Vargas, Ndoye, Embolo
Slovenia possible starting lineup: Oblak; Karnicnik, Drkusic, Bijol, Janza; Stojanovic, Cerin, Elsnik, Lovric; Vipotnik, Sesko
We say: Switzerland 1-1 Slovenia
Switzerland have looked incredibly strong in recent games, and they will be a tough side to beat on Monday – especially at home.
However, Slovenia are no pushovers, and they have proved this not only against Slovenia but also in their recent away fixtures. With that in mind, we are backing a tightly contested draw.
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