Republic of Ireland v Switzerland
Thursday, 19:45
Live On Sky Sports Football
Ireland’s Swiss baggage
The lessons of the history books would suggest that Irish optimism heading into a showdown with Switzerland should be watered down.
Ireland might have a good record in friendlies against the Swiss, but it’s a different story in the competitive sphere.
In this week’s Irish Independent, a piece posited the theory that Irish people have always made the mistake of underestimating the Swiss. And the argument stands up to scrutiny. Switzerland have a very good record against Ireland when it comes to competitive fixtures. Mick McCarthy’s first tenure as boss culminated with a Dublin defeat to the Swiss that derailed Ireland’s Euro 2004 ambitions.
His successor, Brian Kerr, also finished his stint with a scoreless draw in Dublin that ended hopes of participation in the 2006 World Cup. The Swiss have routinely qualified for major tournaments this century, whereas Irish sides have made hard work of it even when they were successful.
Still, the decision of Xherdan Shaqiri to step away from the international game has removed the best known player in the Swiss ranks from the equation. With all due respect to Arsenal’s Granit Xhaka and the other accomplished members of the travelling party, the bulk of Irish fans will survey the Swiss roster and believe that the natives should be capable of making life difficult for them – especially after Xhaka’s sloppy London derby antics. The players struggled to disguise their glee at Shaqiri’s unavailability, with striker David McGoldrick admitting that he was ‘buzzing’ when he heard of the development.
That’s dangerous talk. Nevertheless, while the Swiss deserve their favourites tag on form, the market confidence that they will scoop all three points from the trip is slightly surprising given the turbulent build-up that has placed scrutiny on manager Vladimir Petkovic.
McCarthy had a good home record as Irish boss first time around and the signs were encouraging against Georgia in March with green shirts pressing into the opposition half and actually adding an intimidation factor to their performance.
Poor home displays in the aborted attempt to reach Russia under Martin O’Neill were characterised by a surprising timidity, perhaps borne out of a lack of belief. McCarthy has noted that the Swiss operate a back three that like to play the ball out from the back and he has promised that his team won’t stand off and admire them while they do so.
The high tempo approach will be accompanied by a gameplan. Switzerland did play a match without Shaqiri earlier this year, a bizarre affair with Denmark where they were three ahead and cruising with six minutes to go before suffering a late collapse that resulted in an unlikely 3-3 scoreline.
Their inability to cope with crosses into the box will have encouraged Ireland but, on the flip side of that, the Swiss did showcase a dynamic streak to breach a sturdy Danish rearguard. The talented Breel Embolo enjoyed the freedom he was afforded. It would be a major surprise, however, if this game was anywhere near as dramatic.
The league table says Switzerland are playing catch up but they’ve yet to pick up the routine points from GIbraltar and they know that Ireland must come to Geneva next month. After an unsettling week, their priority is likely to be a controlled display that sets them up for a strong finish. The trading odds of [2.2] on an away win doesn’t make any real appeal here and the lay at anything around this price is advised. Chances are that there will be trading potential in running as Ireland will certainly burst out of the blocks
Tight affair on cards
Don’t expect a six goal thriller here. 1-0, 1-0, 1-1 and 2-0 is the Irish run of results this year, and that includes a pair of matches with Gibraltar. McCarthy’s four strikers are all waiting for a first international goal and set pieces were the source of the valuable efforts against Georgia and Denmark with a Shane Duffy header securing a point against the latter in Copenhagen.
The availability of [2.46] on Under 1.5 Goals stands out as a worthwhile play. Again, it’s difficult to envisage an early flurry of goalscoring activity and this price is appealing in that context, again for trading purposes.
Robinson can be wildcard
With Robbie Brady absent, the path is clear for Sheffield United’s Callum Robinson to start again in a right sided attacking role. McCarthy would prefer if his central midfielders Jeff Hendrick and Conor Hourihane had played more football with his clubs, but he has no such worries with Robinson who has earned a move from Preston to Sheffield United since his last appearance and broke his Premier League duck at Chelsea on Saturday.
He’s the form attacker from an Irish perspective and, while Ireland’s dead ball threat is probably their main strength, Robinson has a bit of momentum behind him and the [5.2] about Robinson to hit the target during the 90 minutes should give backers reason to be energised by proceedings.
Source: BetFair Tips
