Switzerland

Wales V Switzerland

Friday 7 October, 2011 – 19:45 (GMT)

UEFA EURO 2012 Qualifier, Group G

It has been yet another miserable qualifying campaign for the Welsh, who were the first nation in Group G to drop out of contention after losing all four opening qualifiers; failing to even score in three of those. The solution? A change of manager. And it’s prompted a mini renaissance.

Although Gary Speed’s first couple of games in charge weren’t ones to be savoured, the 42-year-old former midfielder will have salivated over his team’s recent displays. A stunning win over Montenegro in Cardiff was followed by a valiant display at Wembley versus England, a match they were definitely deserving of a point but yet, somewhat typically, they ended up losing by the odd goal – the latter typifies their whole campaign.

Last month’s 1-0 defeat to England was Wales’ third 1-0 reverse of Euro 2012 Qualifying, after previously going down by the odd goal in Montenegro and at home to Bulgaria. So it isn’t as though Wales have been played off the park in Group G, far from it, they were simply lacking a bit of thrust in the final third that Gareth Bale and Craig Bellamy have given them in recent qualifiers. The team was also severely deprived of self-belief and confidence, something Speed has clearly instilled during his short time at the helm.

Judging by their September exploits against England and Montenegro, I would say the future is bright for Wales. To leave Wembley feeling disgruntled with a loss is a massive transformation from when they left Cardiff in the reverse meeting back in March feeling they should have lost by a far bigger margin than just the two goals. Now it’s simple a case of sustaining the flow of momentum, which is why earning a result on Friday against decent opposition in the form of Switzerland is pivotal to Wales’ future plans, with qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup less than a year away.

Nullifying the Swiss won’t be easy, mind. Managed by a coach whose tactical nous is almost unrivalled, especially at international level, Switzerland will arrive in Cardiff with one thing in mind: winning! Anything less and Ottmar Hitzfeld must pray that England take maximum points from their clash with Montenegro in Podgorica – and The Three Lions only need a point from that game in order to secure top spot.

So it’s all or nothing from the visitors, which should make for another highly entertaining encounter at the Liberty Stadium. I don’t see the home side holding back, not with Gareth Bale and Craig Bellamy back to their menacing bests, while Switzerland cannot contemplate anything other than victory. Goals it is then, for both sides as well.

Switzerland haven’t been shy in front of goal – only England have scored more in the group than their tally of 10 from six qualifiers – and even slammed four past Wales in the reverse encounter in Basel, in June of last year. Wales will no doubt be seeking revenge for that humbling, and I wouldn’t count against them exacting some as well in front of a decent-sized home following in Swansea.

However, I do expect the visitors to edge this. Ottmar Hitzfeld is a wise cookie and his experience in management dwarfs that of Gary Speed’s. The German also posses a deeper pool of talent to pick from, as well as more experienced pros. They also head into the game HAVING TO WIN! That doesn’t necessarily mean they will, however their superior personnel should tell over the course of 90 minutes.

Betting Selections

Switzerland to WIN @ 20/23 Boylesports

Both Teams to Score @ EVENS Bet365

Switzerland V Iceland

Tuesday, 14 June – 17:00 (GMT)
UEFA Under-21 European Championship

- Switzerland took maximum points from their opening Group A encounter after beating hosts Denmark 1-0.

- Iceland prop up Group A following their 2-0 loss to Belarus, with a near certain exit to follow should they not avoid defeat on Tuesday.

The 2011 Under-21 European Championship in Denmark is well underway and I’m sure many of you, like myself, have been left a little underwhelmed after the first lot of group encounters.

Goals were few and far between – Spain were the only team of the eight competing in these finals to score a first half goal – while the football itself has hardly been a spectacle at times, with all four matches to date producing tight affairs.

However, one team who did excel first-time out was Switzerland, whom stunned the hosts, Denmark, to win 1-0 in Aalborg courtesy of Xherdan Shaqiri’s superb solo effort. The Swiss had to be on their guard defensively, however, with goalkeeper Yann Sommer in particular having shone. But they weren’t the most creative, managing just eight attempts the entire match, and if they are to reign supreme once again in Aalborg over an Iceland outfit who disappointed on their first outing against tournament underdogs Belarus, it will probably be by another tight margin.

It will be a ‘do or bust’ scenario for Iceland, though, when they take to the pitch for Tuesday’s Group A encounter. Should they fail to collect their first points of the tournament and Belarus defeat Denmark later that evening, Eyjolfur Sverrisson’s team will exit the competition with one game to spare.

Unfortunately, though, Iceland will be shorn of 22-year-old Aron Gunnarsson, whom plies his trade with Coventry City in the Championship, after the midfielder saw red against Belarus for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.

Just like the Swiss, Iceland also struggled to carve out openings, though against weaker opposition, it must be said, and may well find themselves banging their heads against another brick wall, a well-organised Swiss defence.

Another evenly-fought contest would appear the call judging by how both encountered difficulties in the creative department in their opening games. That said, there is little doubt as to which manager boasts the greater array of players, with four of Keld Bordinggaard’s Switzerland squad having turned out for the senior team against England no less than two weeks ago, and in striker Shaqiri they have a genuine talent, a powerhouse of a forward with the potential to take the tournament by storm.

Betting Selection(s):

Switzerland to WIN @ 2.10 (11/10) Coral
Xherdan Shaqiri to Score @ 3.60 (13/5) PaddyPower
 

Switzerland V Wales

Tuesday, 12th October – 19:30 GMT (Sky Sports HD2)
EURO 2012 Qualifier: Group G

You get the impression that the Swiss are still nursing a World Cup hangover, where they stunned everyone with the scalp of Spain but still failed to progress past the group, and have made a worrying start to their EURO 2012 Qualifying campaign. The Welsh, well, there haven’t been any surpriss with them unfortunately, with their tag of being the weakest national team in Britain confirmed with a dismal start to proceedings.

Much of the focus, though, will fall on Swiss laps, the second seeds in this group and the favourites to push England all the way for a top spot finish. Two games in and we’re already beginning to discount Switzerland’s chances following back-to-back defeats against England in Basel and Montenegro in Podgorica leaving Ottmar Hitzfeld’s side rooted to the bottom of Group G with an inferior goal different to that of Wales who also have zero points thus far.

I think there’s no arguing that Tuesday’s meeting between Switzerland & Wales is a do or die contest for both teams, the Swiss especially as they can ill afford to throw away what is shaping up as their easiest fixture of the group at home to Wales. And the odds on both sides would confirm this, with Switzerland hot favourites at 1.50 (Boylesports) while Wales are clear underdogs at 8.00 (WilliamHill).

The problem so far for both nations has been a lack of goals. Between them they’ve managed just one goal in four games, Shaqiri with a thunderbolt effort against England. The Welsh failed in their attempts to find a way past both Montenegro and Bulgaria, while the Swiss also came up short against the Montenegrins.

However, the Swiss can usually be relied upon for a goal or two when playing back home and that could be the telling factor in this fixture, although Wales did have a respectable scoring record away from home during World Cup Qualifying. In five away encounters, only Germany successfully kept the Welsh at bay in front of goal, although Liechtenstien were the only team which conceded more than once to Wales, with the Dragons scoring exactly one goal in three of their away qualifiers and are available at odds of 2.62 (SkyBet) to manage the same feat in Basel on Tuesday night.

Meanwhile Switzerland have a knack of scoring exactly two goals in home World Cup qualifiers – 3.25 with SkyBet to do the same on Tuesday, doing so on three occasions. Israel were also the only side to have denied the Swiss any goals at home in a qualifier – World Cup & EURO’s – in over six years when drawing 0-0 almost a year ago to the day, although by that time Switzerland had already qualified for South Africa.

With the Welsh struggling for fire-power at current, not helped by injuries to first-choice forwards Robert Earnshaw and Craig Bellamy, and with the Swiss boasting a proven track record when it comes to scoring in their own backward, the outcome of this fixture almost looks inevitable.

The 1.50 available on Switzerland compounding Wales’ problems looks extremely generous despite their slow start to qualifying.

Matt’s Tip: Switzerland to beat Wales – 1.50 Boylesports

Side-Tip: Alexander Frei First Player to Score for Team – 3.60 PaddyPower

The former Borussia Dortmund now turned FC Basel striker won’t just be playing in familiar surroundings on Tuesday night in Basel but he also has a prolific record for his country. The 31 year-old has turned out 77 times for his country and has scored 44 goals altogether, with five of those coming during 2010 World Cup Qualifying, and four of those were Switzerland’s first goal of the game.

Eurovision Song Contest 2009

Oh yes, it’s back. The competition we’ve all been waiting for. No it’s not the football world cup but only the greatest singing competition of all time, Ok, probably not the best competition in terms of actual singing quality but it certainly does come with an ounce of comedy genius. I’m no Simon Cowell but this year I’ve decided to go through all this years contestants, including the semi-finalists and pick out my potential shocks.

I’m not one for picking out magical voices as I’m one who sits back and enjoys a good performance when it comes to actually watching the Eurovision itself. I always prefer a country who is prepared to laugh at itself with their entries which is surprising coming from a country who consistently chuck camp acts in at the deep end and watch them squirm time after time. This year, Great Britain has gone more for a power balled, I think, like i said, I’m no Simon Cowell. The beautiful Jade Ewen will be singing Andrew Lloyd Webbers’s “It’s my time” and although it doesn’t initially get my vote, it might tickle the taste buds of other country’s. Let’s hope so for both their sakes.

Here just a few of the ones i found “interesting” shall i say.

Norway – Alexander Rybak with “Fairytale”.

This is widely tipped to win the whole competition despite the fact that Norway do have to qualify via the second semi-final which is live this Thursday on BBC3. They should cruise through that though with a decent song it has to be said. The more i listened to it, the more i wanted to vote for Alexander myself. Not only is the song very pleasing on the ears but it will also get lots of votes from it’s neighbours.

Matt’s Prediction – Winner @ 2.72: It will get plenty of votes and looks a formality to be honest. You can still get around 2.7 on Betfair which is very short and I won’t be betting on him as i can’t see any value whatsoever but wouldn’t be surprsing to see him win by a comfortable margin.

Video Link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaSshKURz7g&feature=related

Finland – Waldo’s People with “Lose Control”.

I’m really fond of this tune. It reminds me of the sort of pleasant dance tunes you see in our charts today. It’s the sort of song you could listen to again and again. It has a really good beat to it backed up by a very attractive woman singing along with some geezer in a hat. I can see Great Britain voting for it, just unsure as to whether the rest or Europe will take so kindly to it. I’m a big fan though and i fancy it to do well.

Matt’s Prediction – Top Ten @ 4/1 & Top Four @ 18/1: You could maybe bargain with a slightly better price on betfair if you sit and wait and i think it could be worth it. It does have to progress past the first Semi-Final but they aren’t up against Norway and should sail through if my untrained Musical ears are anything to go by.

Video Link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji1qCTYSxAg

Belgium – Patrick Ouchene with “Copycat”.

By far the catchiest tune in this years competition. Patrick Ouchene is an Elvis impersonator in the video and he will undoubtedly grab the attention of a fair few. Whether the rest of Europe will take to him like we have is another matter though. Still, I’m sure once you’ve listened to it you’ll be singing the chorus all day. This is probably my favourite out of all the entrants although the huge price for it is a big put off. The bookies have obviously done their research and are assuming Europe will turn their noses up at it. However, at those odds. It’s certainly worth a small dabble to breach the top ten and I think you’ll agree after viewing it.

Matt’s Prediction – Top Ten @ 24/1 : Huge odds just to break into the top ten. Our only reservation is it does have to make it through the first Semi-Final but the top nine will progress into the final and we think it has a smashing chance of doing just that. Get on the big odds while you still can.

Video Link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOn0QwBFOGI

Switzerland – Lovebugs with “The Highest Heights”.

Another song i fell in love with from the first moment i heard it. “The Highest Heights” is a song sung by Swiss band Lovebugs in the genre of Indie. The song is actually very good and is one i could envisage breaking into our charts so it should have no problems with the Euro vision although it’s a little different from the types of songs Europe is used to hearing in this competition. It will be interesting to see how they take to it but we think it will do alright.

Matt’s Prediction – Top Ten @ 4/1 : Like several, Lovebugs will have to qualify from the first of two Semi-Finals but I’ve taken to the song. Just a case of whether some of Europe do as well. I’m not sure it has enough to push the big boys but certainly has top ten claims.

Video Link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbikwcLnDQA

Euro vision Schedule:

First Semi-Final – Tuesday 12^th May 20:00 BBC3

Second Semi-Final – Thursday 14^th May 20:00 BBC3

Live Final – Saturday 20:00 BBC1

Good Luck if you decide to stick a few pounds on the Euro vision. All my prices are based on the Betfair markets but you may be able to shop around with the bookies.

- Matthew Chapple