Czech Republic vs Switzerland Predictions

• Czech Republic have scored in each of their last 11 competitive fixtures played on home soil, conceding in six.
• Switzerland have scored in 12 of their last 16 competitive away games and conceded in 13 of those 16 contests.
• Czech Republic have conceded just eight goals in their last 11 home competitive fixtures.

Swiss look overrated for away win

Switzerland’s away record is so full of holes that even a Czech Republic side without Patrick Schick will fancy their chances of picking up something from Thursday’s Nations League A Group 2 contest in Prague.

Murat Yakin’s side have recorded only four road wins in the past two years, one of which was on neutral territory against Turkey at the Euros, the other three coming at Gibraltar, Bulgaria and Lithuania. None of those three will be gracing the top tier of the Nations League anytime soon – if ever – so we fail to see why the Swiss should be as short as 13/10 for this encounter.

The value would usually be found with the hosts, who have won eight of 13 competitive home games over the same two-year period – including a 2-1 win over England. Jaroslav Šilhavý’s side also earned a 1-1 draw with Belgium last year and were without Schick for that game too.

Score draw looks good for the shrewdies

An opening draw in a group which will probably boil down to one of these nations dropping down to League B might be the shrewdest bet in the book, but both teams to score also looks a solid play to us based on the two teams’ recent characteristics.

The Swiss were a chaotic joy at the Euros last summer, coming back from 3-1 down to eventually eliminate favourites France on penalties and then giving Spain a major scare in the quarter-finals before being wronged by the referee. They concede far too many goals to go really deep in tournaments, but the Nations League format seems ideal for them to shine again – as they did in reaching the last four in 2019.

Nati have scored in 12 of their last 16 competitive away games and conceded in 13 of those 16 contests too, which looks like a recipe for a BTTS game here – as the Czechs have also scored in each of their last 11 meaningful games on home soil. A 1-1 draw is the likely outcome when these two meet at Sinobo Stadium with Šilhavý’s side having only shipped more than once in two of those last 11 home games of either Nations League, European Championship qualifying and World Cup qualifying standard since 2019.