UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifying: Switzerland vs Denmark preview

Switzerland are looking to achieve a perfect start to their UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying campaign, but they might have a tough match at St. Jakob Park in Basel on Tuesday as they host Group D rivals Denmark. The two sides have not met since the qualifying campaign for the 2000 European Championships, when Denmark secured a 1-1 draw in Switzerland before a 2-1 victory at home and qualified for the final tournament. Overall, the head to head record between these two sides is perfectly balanced ahead of this game, with one victory for each and two draws. Switzerland kicked off their campaign with a 2-0 victory in Georgia last weekend, with second-half goals from Steven Zuber and Denis Zakaria. That was the second consecutive win for Switzerland after last year's shocking 5-2 victory over Belgium in the UEFA Nations League. That result allowed Switzerland to finish at the top of their Nations League group, and that gives them the play-off option in case they finish outside the top two in Group D. Liverpool winger Xherdan Shaqiri was forced to pull out of the squad ahead of the Georgia match due to an injury, while Fabian Schar picked up a knock during that match and is ruled out for Tuesday's game. Denmark didn't have a qualifying match last weekend, so they played a friendly in Kosovo which nearly ended in a defeat for them. Kosovo had a 1-0 and a 2-1 lead but Denmark fought back each time with goals from Christian Eriksen and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. That wasn't the result that their fans had been expecting but it did extend their unbeaten run to six games in all competitions. Denmark also managed to win their Nations League group last year, so they can go to the play-offs as well if they finish outside the top two. There are no injury concerns for the away side, so head coach Age Hareide will field his best eleven. Probable line-ups: Switzerland: Sommer - Lichtsteiner, Elvedi, Akanji, Rodriguez - Embolo, Xhaka, Zakaria, Freuler - Zuber - Ajeti Denmark: Schmeichel - Christensen, Zanka, Kjaer, Larsen - Delaney, Hojbjerg - Poulsen, Eriksen, Braithwaite - Jorgensen My prediction: 1-1 draw, these two sides seem quite evenly-matched and both will be unwilling to take too many risks at such an early stage of the campaign. Here are the odds for the match at Bet365: Switzerland win - 2.20 Draw - 3.30 Denmark win - 3.75