Switzerland vs Qatar
International Friendlies
Date: Wednesday, 14 November 2018
Kick-Off at 18:00 UK / 19:00 CET
Venue: Stadio di Cornaredo (Lugano)
The Swiss are coming off a 2-1 victory away at Iceland in a UEFA Nations League fixture back in October. They took a two-goal lead through Haris Seferovic and Michael Lang and were able to hold on for the win despite conceding late in the second half.
Vladimir Petkovic's team have a crucial UNL clash against Belgium to come and will look to build some confidence ahead of the visit of the Belgians. They are unbeaten in their last seven matches at home having claimed six wins in that run.
Petkovic has retained most of the players who featured for Switzerland during the last international break in October. Premier League duo of Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri are both included in the squad while the likes of Seferovic, Denis Zakaria and Steven Zuber will hope to continue their recent good form.
Qatar
Al-Annabi suffered a 2-0 defeat away at Uzbekistan in their previous international friendly back in October. They kept the hosts at bay for much of the contest but were eventually breached twice following some late pressure.
The Asians have been in good form in their recent outings having claimed three wins in their last five matches. They have however been poor travelers lately with five defeats in their last seven fixtures away from home.
Striker Almoez Ali is expected to continue to lead the line for Qatar having scored four goals in as many matches for Felix Sanchez Bas' team. The 22-year-old will be supported by Hassan Al Heidos and Karim Boudiaf, both of whom have also impressed lately.
Switzerland vs Qatar: Head-to-head
This will be the first ever head to head encounter between Switzerland and Qatar.
witzerland vs Qatar: Prediction
The Maroons ended a three-win streak by falling 2-0 to Uzbekistan a month ago in Tashkent. The Spanish manager Felix Sanchez made some rotations to the line-up which defeated Ecuador 4-3 days before, but we can expect the strongest squad possible for the visitors here.
November matches against Switzerland and Iceland will be Qatar’s final tests before the Asian Cup in January. You should pay attention on Almoez Ali who bagged a brace in the 4-3 victory over Ecuador in October.
Sanchez will also be keen to see improvements in his men’s defensive efforts which were fairly lame in recent outings. Qatar allowed five goals last month against Ecuador and Uzbekistan.
The quality is definitely on the Swiss’ side, but the visitors will enter this much more motivated to pick up a result which is why we don’t expect a high-margin victory for La Nati here.
Match-Up
Switzerland have good quality in attack with Seferovic, Shaqiri and Zuber. The pace, movement and technique should prove too much for the Qatari backline.
The hosts are also quite formidable at the back, the duo of Akanji and Fabian Schar will be confident of shutting out the visitors who have a poor away record.
Switzerland vs Qatar: Bet Tips
Qatar +1.5 handicap @ 2.30 (13/10)
Draw at the half time @ 2.70 (17/10).
