Preview: Switzerland vs. Czech Republic - prediction, team news, lineups

The Rossocrociati claimed a surprise 2-1 win on Spain's turf at the weekend, while Jaroslav Silhavy's side were thumped 4-0 by a fellow Iberian side in Portugal.

Match preview

Not many nations can proudly boast to have claimed successive wins over Portugal and Spain, but Switzerland are now part of that elite crowd after running out 2-1 winners over Luis Enrique's finals-chasing side on matchday five.

Manuel Akanji and Breel Embolo struck either side of Jordi Alba's equaliser to dent Spain's hopes of finishing in first place and significantly boost their survival prospects in the process, with the Rossocrociati rising above the relegation spot with that triumph.

Now sitting two points clear of their Czech counterparts after winning each of their last two in the Nations League, a draw would be enough to see Switzerland stave off relegation to League B and guarantee a fourth successive tournament in the upper echelons of League A.

The writing was seemingly on the wall for Murat Yakin's side after opening the new Nations League campaign with three defeats on the bounce, but the Rossocrociati have turned up the heat when it matters most, and their fate is now in their own hands.

Switzerland welcome the Czech Republic to Kybunpark having lost just two of their last 15 home matches across all competitions, but a couple of suspension concerns have presented themselves to Yakin and co ahead of Tuesday's pivotal encounter.

Switzerland began their Nations League campaign with three straight defeats, and that has been the theme for the Czech Republic recently, as Silhavy's side strung together their own three-game losing streak at home to Portugal on the penultimate matchday.

Diogo Dalot's brace alongside goals from Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Jota saw Portugal on their way to a comprehensive win, during which Patrik Schick blazed a penalty over the bar, but a goal for the Bayer Leverkusen man would not have made much difference to the result anyway.

Having lost each of their last three games without a single goal - conceding eight times along the way - the Czech Republic will suffer a swift demotion back down to League B with anything other than three points on Switzerland's turf.

Now without a clean sheet in their last seven games across all competitions - winning just once in that run - Silhavy's side will hold the underdogs tag for their trip to Kybunpark, and their most recent three Nations League encounters away from home have all ended in defeat.

On a brighter note for the visitors, their only triumph in the 2022-23 Nations League so far was a 2-1 success over Switzerland on the opening matchday, and not since the sides' first meeting in 1994 have the Rossocrociati ended up on the winning side in this battle.

Switzerland Nations League form:

L

L

L

W

W

Switzerland form (all competitions):

D

L

L

L

W

W

Czech Republic Nations League form:

W

D

L

L

L

Czech Republic form (all competitions):

D

W

D

L

L

L

Team News

Switzerland and Manchester City centre-back Manuel Akanji picked up his second yellow card of the tournament after opening the scoring against Spain, and he will be one of two Rossocrociati players to miss out for an accumulation of bookings.

Substitute goalkeeper Jonas Omlin was also cautioned for an infringement on the bench and will be absent here, but Yann Sommer wrestled the gloves back for the win over Spain and would have expected to start here in any case.

Fabian Schar can expect to deputise for Akanji in the backline, while Ricardo Rodriguez was taken off at half time last time out, but the left-back had been dealing with an illness prior to the international break.

As for the Czech Republic, Silhavy lost centre-back Jakub Brabec with 22 minutes on the clock to injury against Portugal, so Ondrej Kudela should come in for a start in defence this week.

Midfielder Petr Sevcik was fine to come off the bench last time out after recovering from an illness and could now challenge Alex Kral for his place, while options in attack are there for Silhavy in abundance.

Schick's penalty miss should not impact his chances of successive starts, but Antonin Barak may be fearing for his place out wide as Vaclav Cerny pushes for a recall to the first XI.

Switzerland possible starting lineup:

Sommer; Widmer, Elvedi, Schar, Rodriguez; Freuler, Xhaka, Sow; Shaqiri, Embolo, Vargas

Czech Republic possible starting lineup:

Vaclik; Kudela, Zima, Jemelka; Coufal, Sevcik, Soucek, Zeleny; Cerny, Schick, Hlozek

We say: Switzerland 2-0 Czech Republic

Even with the welcome return of Schick, finding the back of the net has not been the Czech Republic's forte, and the absence of Akanji is unlikely to help the visitors too much in that regard.

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