Spain Switzerland Betting – Spain Opens World Cup By Slicing Swiss Into Cheese

Online betting players are banking on a big tournament from perennial underachievers Spain, who will face Switzerland in their Group H opening match. Spain had some injury worries heading into South Africa, but all hands are on deck and relatively healthy, which could mean a long day for the Swiss.

• What: World Cup Betting
• When: Wednesday, June 16, 10:00 AM ET
• Where: Durban Stadium, Durban
• Key Stats: Spain is 15 wins and three draws in 18 matches against the Swiss

The Storyline

The Spanish, who won Euro 2008, come into this year as one of the favorites and they flexed their muscles with a 6-0 thrashing of Poland in a friendly. The Swiss have faltered in the run-in to the World Cup, falling 3-1 to Uruguay, 1-0 to Costa Rica, but a 1-1 draw against the defending champions from Italy may be encouraging. Spain have also never lost to Switzerland in 18 matches, winning 15 of them.

Who Has The Edge On Offense: Spain Switzerland Betting

This isn’t even close. Spain may be the pre-eminent attacking force in the world with Fernando Torres and David Villa up front, and the likes of Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas running things in the midfield. All of these players except for Villa have had injury worries as of late, but all five played in the Poland win, and Villa, Torres and Fabregas all scored, while Iniesta was the best player on the pitch before leaving with a thigh strain.

Alexander Frei and Blaise Nkufo are the target men for the Swiss, and Frei’s 40 goals is the most in their history. However, unlike Spain, the Swiss don’t have much support from the midfielders outside of Hakin Yakin, who is now 33 years old. So, against a team like Spain, Frei and Nkufo could be starved of support.

Who Has The Edge In Defense: Spain Switzerland Betting

Spain’s defense doesn’t get the attention of their offensive counterparts, but that’s because their best defense is their possession-style offense which keeps the ball away from their opponents. Still, they have a very capable defense led by captain Iker Casillas, and the Real Madrid keeper will have Barcelona rivals Carlos Puyol and Gerard Pique in front of him.

The Swiss are disciplined enough on defense, and it looks like they’ve decided on the pairing of Philippe Senderos and Stephane Grichting in front of keeper Diego Benaglio. Tranquillo Barnetta may be enlisted to sit in front of the back for the Swiss to try and disrupt the Spanish passing game.

Notable Injuries – Spain Switzerland Betting

Iniesta (thigh) was subbed out of the Poland game as a precaution, but Fabregas (knee), Torres (knee) and Xavi (calf) seemed to come through fine.

Midfielder Valon Behrami (thigh) has recovered in time and may be able to start for the Swiss in this match.

Totals – Spain Switzerland Betting

Spain has scored 45 goals in 18 matches against the Swiss, so it’s likely that they’ll go over the posted total of 2.5 by themselves.

Spain Switzerland Betting Prediction & Outlook

Spain is a massive -370 favorite in this World Cup contest, while the Swiss come in at +1000, and a draw is listed at +425. As we’ve said before, the Spanish haven’t lost in 18 meetings with Switzerland, and it don’t look like they’re ready to end that just yet. This could be an exercise in damage limitation for the Swiss as Spain looked in a threatening mood against Poland, and most of their star players are healthy now. The Swiss are disciplined enough to keep it from being a blowout, but they don’t have a chance of a sports betting upset against Spain here.

Bet World Cup: Spain -370