Scotland vs Switzerland: Where to watch, preview, lineups and odds

Ryan Murray

After both teams were relegated from the competition’s top tier last season, Scotland and Switzerland clash in the Nations League on Tuesday night.

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The Tartan Army are still licking their wounds following a disappointing World Cup performance, which culminated in the departure of long-serving boss Steve Clarke.

Now under the stewardship of Sebastien Pocognoli, the Belgian tactician will hope to claim his maiden victory as a senior international manager when he takes charge at Hampden for the first time, after Saturday afternoon’s goalless draw with Slovenia.

Scotland made an awful start to their last Nations League campaign, losing each of their opening three matches. However, they went on to record a respectable goalless draw with eventual winners Portugal, before taking maximum points against Croatia and Poland to hand them a playoff lifeline.

A 3-1 aggregate defeat to Greece confirmed their demotion, but at least Scotland would avenge this result by overcoming the same opponents in a direct battle for World Cup qualification.

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By contrast, Murat Yakin’s men were extremely pleased with their exploits across the Atlantic. Switzerland reached the quarter-final stage of a World Cup for the first time since assuming hosting duties in 1954, while also breaking a curse that had seen them win just one of their six previous shootouts ahead of a successful penalty-kick showdown with Colombia.

Although their progress at the 2024 European Championships was also encouraging, Switzerland have been outclassed on Nations League duty. The Rossocrociati avoided defeat in just two of their six fixtures last time around, drawing on home soil with Denmark and Serbia en route to finishing bottom of Group A4.

However, the Swiss have already accrued more points in this season’s edition of the Nations League, thanks to a convincing 3-0 victory over North Macedonia last weekend.

The BBC are providing comprehensive live coverage of Tuesday night’s meeting at Hampden across their television and online platforms, with the build-up commencing 15 minutes ahead of a 19:45 (BST) kick-off.

Scotland vs Switzerland - key information

Date: Tuesday, 29th September

Kick-off time: 19:45 (BST)

Venue: Hampden Park, Glasgow

Referee: Nenad Minakovic

VAR: TBC

TV channels/live stream: BBC Scotland, BBC Two, BBC iPlayer, and the BBC Sport website

Odds: Scotland: 3/1, Draw: 5/2, Switzerland: 9/10

Odds provided by bet365

Scotland team news

A change of personnel in the dugout coincides with a new-look Scotland squad, with no less than 12 members of Clarke’s World Cup squad missing out on this autumn’s Nations League fixtures.

Sebastien Pocognoli called up a total of seven uncapped players, as the likes of Hearts winger Josh McPake, Swansea City defender Stephen Welsh and Celtic youngster Colby Donovan all get their first taste of the international scene. The same could be said of highly rated striker Robbie Ure, whose sensational goalscoring form in the Swedish Allsvenskan recently earned him a dream move to seven-time Europa League champions Sevilla.

The former Monaco boss has also reintegrated Oli McBurnie into the Scotland fold. The Hull City frontman last featured for his country way back in March 2021, winning his 16th cap in a 4-0 rout of the Faroe Islands.

After being unlucky not to secure a seat on the plane to North America, Lennon Miller, Kieron Bowie, James Wilson, and goalkeepers Scott Bain and Jon McCracken are all once again involved.

Scott McTominay underwent a minor heart procedure earlier this month and is therefore unavailable, but his Napoli teammate Billy Gilmour, who was cruelly ruled out of the World Cup less than a fortnight before Scotland’s Group C opener against Haiti, has now fully recovered from the knee sprain that caused his absence.

With Che Adams (groin), Lawrence Shankland (hamstring), and Ross Stewart (quadriceps) all currently injured and Championship-based duo Lyndon Dykes and George Hirst not making the cut, Pocognoli is lacking firepower up front.

A partnership of Robbie Ure and Oli McBurnie led the line on Saturday, but with both players failing to convert chances during Scotland’s second-half dominance, Sassuolo marksman Kieron Bowie could get the nod.

Scotland predicted line-up vs Switzerland (3-4-1-2)

Coach: Sebastien Pocognoli

Angus Gunn (GK); Jack Hendry, Scott McKenna, Stephen Welsh; Ben Gannon-Doak, Billy Gilmour, Lewis Ferguson, Andrew Robertson; John McGinn; Oli McBurnie, Kieron Bowie

Switzerland team news

Murat Yakin is in an entirely different boat to his managerial counterpart, having worked with a consistent group of players for an extended period of time.

Switzerland have plenty of quality in their ranks, as evidenced by the volume of representatives from Europe’s top five leagues. Borussia Dortmund’s Gregor Kobel and Inter Milan defender Manuel Akanji are amongst the stand-out names, alongside Premier League pair Johan Manzambi and Dan Ndoye.

Although he would usually feature on this list, Granit Xhaka has been forced to withdraw from the Swiss squad. The Sunderland skipper is under investigation for obtaining a fraudulent Covid-19 vaccination certificate back in 2022, a misdemeanour he has since admitted in a public announcement.

In the aftermath of Xhaka’s revelation, a similar case implicating Breel Embolo resurfaced in the Swiss media. The Atlanta United striker was caught using forged documents during the height of the pandemic, which resulted in him being forced to pay a financial penalty. That has led to Embolo’s removal from the squad, stripping Yakin of one of his best attacking options.

However, Burnley’s Zeki Amdouni has already proved himself as an able replacement, netting a brace in Skopje on Saturday night.

There are also two noteworthy absentees, who would both usually feature in Switzerland’s starting line-up. Ruben Vargas remains sidelined with a low-grade knee injury, while Denis Zakaria is on the treatment table due to an undisclosed issue.

Switzerland predicted line-up vs Scotland (4-2-3-1)

Coach: Murat Yakin

Gregor Kobel (GK); Zachary Athekame, Nico Elvedi, Manuel Akanji, Ricardo Rodriguez; Djibril Sow, Remo Freuler; Fabian Rieder, Johan Manzambi, Dan Ndoye; Zeki Amdouni

Where to watch on TV or live stream

From March last year until the eve of this summer’s World Cup, the BBC enjoyed exclusive broadcasting rights for every Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland fixture.

This agreement has since been extended for a further two years, enabling Scotland fans to watch their national team on free-to-air television between now and the 2028 European Championships, which will be hosted by Britain and Ireland.

The upcoming clash with Switzerland will be screened on BBC Scotland and BBC Two (UK-wide), while online viewers can follow events at Hampden via BBC iPlayer or the BBC Sport website.

Head-to-head record

Scotland and Switzerland share a fairly even head-to-head record, although the two teams have only met twice since the turn of the century.

The first of these contests was back in March 2006, when a half-empty Hampden watched the hosts sink to a sobering 3-1 defeat. Kenny Miller was on the scoresheet that evening, but his goal wasn’t enough to help Scotland win a friendly at their national stadium for the first time in ten years.

Almost two decades later, Tuesday’s opponents were drawn into the same group for the 2024 European Championships. Scott McTominay’s early opener was cancelled out by an opportunistic strike from Xherdan Shaqiri, ensuring both teams left Cologne with a share of the spoils. The Scots would exit the tournament at the conclusion of the group stage thanks to a heart-breaking end to their encounter with Hungary, but Yakin’s Switzerland progressed as far as the quarter-finals.