The 2020/21 UEFA Nations League continues this week and on Tuesday the 13th of October we have a meeting between Germany and Switzerland to enjoy.
The match takes place at the Rhein Energie Stadion, Cologne, with Germany currently in second place in the group on 5 points and Switzerland bottom of the group with just a single point .
Germany come into the match having defeated Ukraine 2-1 away from home on the weekend. Germany took the lead after 20 minutes and extended their advantage shortly after half time. Ukraine pulled a goal back with 13 minutes remaining in the game but Germany held on to secure maximum points.
It was their first victory in the group following draws at home against Spain and away against Switzerland. Germany will feel as though they should have defeated Spain in the opening match of the group but conceded an equalising goal in the 96th minute. The Germans also led against Switzerland after only 14 minutes but conceded an equaliser in the second half.
Trends show Germany are undefeated in their last 9 matches and that includes each of their last 5 at home. However, 3 of those games have ended in draws against Argentina, Spain, and Turkey. In each of those 3 matches both teams scored and in two of them there were over 3.5 goals scored. That suggests we could see both teams find the back of the net in this game.
Switzerland started their UEFA Nations League campaign with a 2-1 defeat in Ukraine. They fell a goal behind after 14 minutes but scored the equaliser just before half time. A point would have been a decent result for Switzerland but they could not keep out Ukraine in the second half and a goal in the 68 minute was enough for the hosts to take maximum points.
The Swiss then had the daunting prospect of playing Germany at home. Having fallen a goal behind early in the game, Switzerland battled back to score the equaliser and take a point from the match. However, their most recent fixture in the Nations League came in Spain on the weekend and Switzerland lost the game 1-0. A single goal scored in the 14th minute was enough to split the teams.
Trends show Switzerland have failed to win any of their last 4 games. They have won only one of their last 6 away matches and both teams have scored in 4 of those 6 games.
With this being the third fixture for Germany in this international break we expect to see some changes to the starting XI. Timo Werner, Emre Can, Kai Havertz, and Julian Brandt could be among those who start the match.
Switzerland may choose to go with a similar starting line-up to that which narrowly lost against Spain. Xherdan Shaqiri could be one player who comes into the starting XI.
Germany are the favourites to win this match but will be pushed close by a Switzerland team who can be difficult to beat. We expect to see both teams find the back of the net but this game could end level.