Brazil should have far too much quality for Switzerland

Neymar has great players around him

Neymar scored four goals against JapanCredit: Getty Images

World Cup Group E
ITV, 7pm Sunday

Brazilian football was on its knees when the national team lost 7-1 to Germany at the 2014 World Cup semi-finals but the Samba Stars return to the biggest stage with a spring in their step and and look rock-solid favourites to beat Switzerland in Rostov.

There was always a suspicion that Brazil's 2014 World Cup squad was not a vintage group of players.

And the team's limitations had been exposed in the previous summer when Switzerland defeated them 1-0 in Basel.

Of the Swiss starting line-up that night, seven – Stephan Lichtsteiner, Ricardo Rodriguez, Valon Behrami, Blerim Dzemaili, Granit Xhaka, Xherdan Shaqiri and Haris Seferovic – are in their 2018 World Cup squad.

But Switzerland are up against a very different Brazil side – one who have made substantial progress since Tite took over as head coach in June 2016.

Tite inherited a team who had failed to get out of the group stage at the Copa America Centenario.

But he had good raw materials to work with and has done a marvellous job, presiding over 17 wins, three draws and one defeat.

The final verdict on Tite will not be delivered until after the World Cup but his team go into the competition as favourites, something which didn't seem very likely when Andre Schurrle was rounding off the Germans' scoring spree in Belo Horizonte.

They were a class apart in qualifying, losing just one of 18 games and finishing ten points ahead of second-placed Uruguay.

And confidence has continued to grow this year with a string of impressive friendly victories, headlined by a 1-0 success over Germany in Berlin.

Neymar missed the Germany victory with a foot injury but came back into the fold for the wins over Croatia (2-0) and Austria (3-0), scoring on both occasions.

Getting Neymar fully fit is a huge boost but Brazil are no longer totally reliant on the mercurial 26-year-old, as they often seemed to be four years ago.

Philippe Coutinho is starting to show Brazil fans the talent which have made him the darling of Anfield and Camp Nou.

And they look stronger in the centre-forward position with Gabriel Jesus showing the confidence of a player who has just won a league championship for Manchester City.

Brazil also have Roberto Firmino, Willian and Douglas Costa in reserve and look certain to score goals.

But their defence is also a strong suit and is a pointer to finding a value bet for their first game.

Brazil are odds-against to win without conceding a goal, which looks a great price considering the limitations of Switzerland.

Xherdan Shaqiri is the star turn for Swiss, having scored 20 goals at international level, and is a threat from set-pieces.

But Switzerland have little else for Brazil to worry about.

Seferovic – their likely starting centre-forward – scored just four league goals for Benfica this season and Breel Embolo – often deployed as an impact substitute – fails to hold down a regular place for Schalke.

They defended well enough in a poor qualifying group, conceding seven goals in ten games – and will probably sit back against Brazil in the hope of nicking a point.

However, far better teams have failed to contain Brazil this year and the Swiss resistance is likely to be broken at some stage.

Recommendation
Brazil win to nil
1pt 5-4 Betfred

Bet on this game at Soccerbase.com

The lowdown

Brazil
Team news
Neymar (foot) started the final warm-up game against Austria is looks ready to take his place in the front three. Danilo could pip Fagner to the right-back slot.

Strengths
Neymar is getting back to his best despite missing three months through injury while fellow forwards Gabriel Jesus and Philippe Coutinho are in excellent touch.

Weaknesses
The full-back areas have been strengths in the past but right-back Danilo has not been a regular at Manchester City.

Key man
Brazil have greater depth to their attack than in 2014 but Neymar is still the jewel in their crown.

Switzerland
Team news
Josip Drmic overcame injury concerns to make the squad and will battle with Breel Embolo and Haris Seferovic for a berth up front.

Strengths
Manuel Akanji moved from Basel to Borussia Dortmund in January and is a centre-back with lots of potential. Xherdan Shaqiri is the main threat in attack.

Weaknesses
The options at centre-forward are uninspiring with Haris Seferovic and Breel Embolo lacking a run of games at club level.

Key man
Shaqiri has experienced relegation with Stoke but has a lot of quality and may be looking to catch the attention of potential suitors.

Key stat
Brazil have kept clean sheets in seven of their last eight games.

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