Sweden vs Switzerland Betting Preview

Kick-off: Tuesday, 3rd July @15:00 GMT

Venue: St. Petersburg Stadium, Saint Petersburg

Head to head record

Switzerland vs Sweden 1-2 (1976 World Cup qualifying)

Sweden vs Switzerland 2-1 (1977 World Cup qualifying)

Sweden vs Switzerland 2-0 (1986 European Championship qualifying)

Switzerland vs Sweden 4-2 (1994 European Championship qualifying)

Sweden vs Switzerland 0-0 (2002 friendly)

The two sides have played against each other a total of 27 times. Both teams have 10 wins each and there were 7 draws.

Sweden vs Switzerland predictions

Sweden was heartbroken to lose against Germany but rallied together to thrash Mexico 3-0. They’ve won two games in a row in the World Cup only once, in 1958, when they were hosts. With goalkeeper Olsen in great form and a solid defense, the Swedes will try to be the ones making it to the quarter-finals.

On the other hand, the Suisse were lucky in the last game and could have easily lost the match. Still, while some may call it luck, others might call it hard work as Switzerland have shown grit to come back from behind in two games already. They will surely play with the same desire against Sweden on Tuesday.

Going a step further

After a somewhat surprising win over Mexico in the group stage, where they could have won 5-0 easily, the Swedish team is buzzing.

In 1958 Sweden were second and in 1994 they were third, but in all of their other appearances, biggest achievement was making it to the knockout round of the tournament. They will feel confident that they can go a step further this time and make it into the quarter-finals for only the third time in their long footballing history.

Sweden will miss Larsson through suspension, but Granqvist and the team will try to make up for his absence. Everyone is also expecting Forsberg to finally score as the Swedish star has struggled to find the net so far.

Quick out of the gates

Traditionally, Switzerland have a slow start to their matches. This time they stand across a team of similar tactics, so they might choose to come out of the gates furiously and surprise Sweden.

Last time the Suisse reached the quarter-finals was in 1954. They have a great chance of doing it this year. With confidence high in Shaqiri and Xhaka, as it is in the whole team, and with no pressure to perform a miracle, Switzerland may well join Russia and Croatia in being one of the eight best countries in this World Cup.

Lichtsteiner will be greatly missed by the team while he is serving out his suspension along with teammate Schär, while Svensson is expected to replace him. Rodriguez will have to take on the burden of leading the team in his stead.

Some interesting facts

• Two sides have played five World Cup qualifying matches, but have never met in the World Cup.
• They also played in four European Championship qualifiers, but have never met in the actual European Championships.
• This game will be Sweden’s 50th game in the World Cup. Only 10 other nations have managed that so far.
• Switzerland have scored 14 goals so far in their World Cup campaigns, including the ones scored so far in Russia. Eleven out of those 14 were scored in the second half. Four out those 11 were this year in the group stage.

Sweden vs Switzerland betting pick

Despite playing a few times against each other over the years, Sweden and Switzerland have never met in major competitions. This will be the first time.

This match has all the markings of a tight game until the final whistle, but Switzerland are slight favorites. They have looked more confident throughout. Looking at their form, a good bet might be a draw and extra time, followed by penalties. However, Switzerland have a knack of snatching late goals in this World Cup so far.

Pick: Switzerland to win

Odds: 7/4