Prediction: Spain win
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The Round of 16 at UEFA Euro 2020 produced some of the best games we ve ever seen on the international stage and while some fans may feel as if their lives as football fans have peaked, that couldn t be any further from the truth. We ve got the quarter-finals to look forward to this weekend and today, we re going to take a look at the fixture that ll kick it all off on Friday night as underdogs Switzerland prepare to go into battle with 2008 2012 winners Spain.
Switzerland
It s pretty easy to say that the Swiss weren t supposed to get to this point so, in order to really grasp what they ve accomplished, we first have to look back at how they started the tournament. They looked to be down and out with just one point from their first two group games but instead of closing in on themselves, they decided to let their attacking players shine and in doing so, they rapidly turned into one of the most exciting teams at the Euros.
Team News
The biggest blow of all for Switzerland is that talisman Granit Xhaka will be unable to play this game due to suspension. Seferovic is likely to feature after his goalscoring exploits whereas Zakaria should come in as Xhaka s replacement.
Spain
The Spaniards can also be accused of looking very shaky in the early stages of this year s Euros and, in the same way, they ve hit back with a real vengeance across their last two games. They ve started scoring goals for fun and even though it s not quite the free flowing football we re all used to seeing from them, they re still getting the job done and they re in a great position to now make a push all the way through to the final which seemed unthinkable not so long ago.
Team News
David de Gea will probably still make the bench despite a thigh injury with Garcia being tipped to start even though he was taken off on Monday. Elsewhere, Spain have no other injury or suspension concerns with the countdown to kick-off commencing for the former champions.
Factors to Consider
Spain are now one of the favourites to win Euro 2020 after the Round of 16.
Switzerland finished 3rd in Group A with four points.
Spain finished 2nd in Group E with five points.
Switzerland have scored seven goals and conceded eight at Euro 2020.
Spain have scored 11 goals and conceded four at Euro 2020.
Conclusion
We re big fans of the underdog but in this instance, we this Spain will serve as a bridge too far for Switzerland. Both nations know how to attack and we don t really think they re going to sit back and defend just because a spot in the final four is at stake. We think the tired legs are going to kick in for both teams but the Spaniards have a little bit more squad depth, with our prediction being an enticing 3-1 win for the favourites.
Prediction: Spain win
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