Switzerland vs. Portugal Predictions: Side with the visitors in Geneva

Portugal travel to Switzerland in their final game of this round of UEFA Nations League matches on Sunday. The Selecao were winners of the inaugural running of this tournament back in 2018 and we’ve previewed their game in Geneva and have provided you with our best bets for the occasion. 

After three rounds of matches, Portugal currently lead the way in League A Group 2. Fernando Santos’ side have accumulated seven points with wins to nil at home against Switzerland and the Czech Republic, as well as a point away at Iberian rivals Spain. Looking at the outright betting for the Nations League and Portugal are the current 4/1 joint favourites with bet365 to repeat their 2018 success and lift the trophy next summer. 

Switzerland on the other hand are rock bottom of Group 2 with zero points on the board after three matches. The Red Crosses were rolled over 2-1 in their opener before a 4-0 defeat to Portugal and most recently a 1-0 loss on home soil to Spain. It’s been a miserable international break for the Swiss after they reached the quarter-finals of last summer’s European Championships and they will look to take something here against a Portugal side that could make several changes.

Cristiano Ronaldo is the name everyone will be looking for when team news is released an hour before kick-off, however it is expected that the five time Ballon D’or winner may be rested, especially after his yellow card in midweek. Veteran defender Pepe is also set to be given a break for Portugal with David Carmo expected to earn a first team debut. 

For the Swiss, Manuel Akanji and Fabian Schar are expected to come back in and start in defence. Murat Yakin’s side have only scored one goal in their last three matches and he may look to Renato Steffenm and Noah Okafor to give them fresh ideas in attack.

The first selection we are siding with is for Portugal to win the match. Switzerland have been disappointing so far in their three Nations League fixtures over the past two weeks and we don’t see things improving for them on Sunday. 

Portugal thrashed Switzerland 4-0 just seven days ago in Lisbon with Cristiano Ronaldo getting on the scoresheet twice in a game where Portugal registered 10 shots on target in comparison to just one from the Swiss. 

Even without their star-man Cristiano Ronaldo in the starting line-up in this game, the visitors should have more than enough quality in the final third with Diogo Jota as well as Andre Silva who could come in for Ronaldo. Bernardo Silva, Joao Moutinho and Bruno Fernandes should occupy the midfield area and overrun the Swiss in another Nations League win for Portugal. With Ronaldo not expected to be named in the starting line-up we think it could be worth waiting until close to kick-off to back Portugal with their price expected to drift slightly off the back of that news. 

Another selection we like the look of in this match is for Fabian Schar to be carded. 3/1 is available at the time of writing although with more bookmakers putting up prices in the next few days it may well be worth shopping around closer to kick-off. 

In his first season of Premier League campaign with Newcastle, the Swiss defender was shown a remarkable 12 yellow cards in just 24 appearances. This season he’s shown more discipline with just four in 25 appearances, but at national level Schar has continued to rack up the cautions. 

The central defender should return to the Switzerland XI on Sunday after serving a one match ban after yellow cards against the Czech Republic and Portugal in the last two weeks. Sent off against Germany in the Nations League group stage in 2020, Schar has been shown a yellow card in three of his last four matches for his national side, and with five fouls in his last two he looks a solid candidate to go into referee Fran Jovic’s notebook. The Croatian official has given out 14 cards across the last two international matches he has taken control of, including eight yellows in a friendly between Montenegro and Greece back in March. 

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