Switzerland vs Ecuador Prediction - Will The Swiss Team Be Able To Continue Their Good Moment Against Ecuador?

Next Sunday, Switzerland will measure forces with Ecuador at Estádio Nacional in Brasilia for the opening match of the World Cup’s Group E.

After an almost flawless campaign at the UEFA qualification round, Switzerland continued to impress on the preparation matches they took part in this year. The Swiss side only lost one of their last twelve matches and they have been proving to be one of the most impressive European teams over the last couple of years. Last week, the Swiss team took on Peru at Lucerne on a match they won by 2-0. Nevertheless, the South American side managed to frustrate the home side’s ambitions until late in the second half, when Lichtsteiner opened the score after a cross from Ricardo Rodriguez. The Peruvian team bounced back and almost equalized and if it wasn’t for Josip Drmic's goal on the 84’ minute, things would have become fairly complicated for the Swiss boys. It was undoubtedly a fairly good test for the European side,especially on the verge of facing Ecuador, which has a similar style of play.

Led by the charismatic Ottmar Hitzfeld, Switzerland won seven of their ten match during the qualification round and conceded three draws along the way. The German head coach Ottmar Hitzfeld probably has, on his hands, the best generation of Swiss footballers ever. Commanded by the all-terrain midfielder Ghöhkan Inler, the skillful Granit Xhaka and the explosive winger Xherdan Shaqiri, the Swiss team are currently playing an attractive football style and therefore find themselves as favourites to win Group E alongside with France.

As for Ecuador, the match against Switzerland will mark their return to a World Cup tournament after they failed to grant a place in South Africa back in 2010.

Ecuador are one of those teams no one ever knows exactly what to expect from them, as they tend to be fairly inconsistent from time to time. During their recent World Cup’s preparation matches, La-Tri forced the Netherlands and England to a draw, but they failed to pose any opposition to Mexico ending up by losing 3-1 at the end of May. Last week, on the other hand, Ecuador put up a fine performance against England, during which they forced the Three Lions to a 2-2 draw on what was a very close and interesting match.

With some top quality players in their ranks, such as Antonio Valencia, Christian Noboa, and Jefferson Montero, Ecuador might have a word to say on a group that will certainly be a very close one.

For next Sunday’s match, Switzerland are firm favourites to win because of their quality and regular campaign so far, although they cannot let their guards down against an unpredictable team such as Ecuador.

Switzerland

Stats: W-3 L-1 D-1

Recent Form - WWDLW

Ecuador

Stats: W-1 L-2 D-2

Recent Form - DLDWL

Possible Line-ups

Switzerland (4-2-3-1) - Benaglio - Lichtsteiner - Senderos - Schar - Rodriguez - Inler - Dzemaili - Xhaka - Shaqiri - Stocker - Drmic

Ecuador (4-3-3) - A. Dominguez - Paredes - Guagua - Erazo - A. Valencia - Noboa - Montero - Méndez - Ayovi - Caicedo - E. Valencia

Prediction: Switzerland 2 Ecuador 0