Romania – Switzerland

Romania and Switzerland will square off at Parc des Princes in the second round of Group A, with both sides potentially being satisfied with a draw here.

Romania lost 2-1 to France in the opening round, but it was a surprisingly good performance from the Romanians, who were denied a draw by an 89th minute brilliant Payet strike. Sure, Romania deserved to lose that game, but it was still and impressive performance by the minnows. The thing that caught the eye was their willingness to not park the bus, which was unexpected from a team with zero individual quality, who made defending an art in the qualifiers. Romania finished second in a group with Greece, Hungary and Northern Ireland, allowing just 2 goals in 10 matches!

Switzerland is on the back of a rather disappointing 1-0 win over Albania, as they played for almost one hour with an extra man and still sweated to win it. Switzerland did have a lot of chances to put that match to bed after their 5th minute goal, but Albania could have also snatched a draw. The Swiss side obviously has plenty of talent in its ranks, but inconsistency is a problem. Switzerland did not play well in the pre – Euro 2016 friendlies and the performance against Albania wasn`t that good.

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Team news & lineups:

Both teams are healthy and might field the same lineups as in the previous round, though I can personally see Romania making two changes here: Torje instead of Pope and Keseru instead of Andone.

Romania: Tatarusanu – Sapunaru, Chiriches, Grigore, Rat – Pintilie, Hoban – Torje, Stanciu, Stancu – Keseru

Switzerland: Sommer – Lichtsteiner, Schar, Djourou, Rodriguez – Behrami, Xhaka – Mehmedi, Dzemaili, Shaqiri – Seferovic

Switzerland obviously owns much more quality than the Romanians, who only have domestic based players and substitutes at mediocre clubs abroad in their ranks. But question is if the Swiss really want to win this game – as a draw would virtually send Switzerland through. Romania might also be satisfied with a draw, as for some reason everybody in the Romanian camp is convinced that they will defeat Albania. However, I think that Romania put all its efforts in that game against France and it`s unlikely for them to repeat that performance – which was overrated anyway, as France could have easily gone up 2-0 until the 60th minute and cruise.

I think there`s good value here on Switzerland, as they did not impress in the first match and Romania lost narrowly against France, though they didn`t really trouble the French aside for a single shot on goal in the 3rd minute. In my opinion, Switzerland is underrated here, the discrepancy in quality is pretty high and the Swiss side is priced as high as 2.60 to win!

I expect a close game, with both teams trying not to lose, but I can see Switzerland banging in one goal due to sheer quality and they might add another when Romania opens up. I`m sticking to my statement that Romania has one of the worst 2-3 teams in the tournament, with very poor individual players.

I`m picking Switzerland to win here, but I am securing my choice with the draw no bet, as Switzerland may choose to play a negative brand of football and settle for a draw. Romania also knows how to hang on to draws, so a low scoring tie is not out of the question at all. Still, I`m sure Switzerland will take their chances if they are presented and I`m pretty confident they will be given those chances by a modest Romania. My tip is Switzerland to win with a +0 asian handicap. Prediction: Romania – Switzerland 0-2.

Pick: Switzerland (+0 Asian Handicap)
Odds: 1.73 @ Sbobet
Stake: 9
Possible profit: 6.57
Event date: 15 June