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Both matches in Group B finished 1-1 in the opening matchday, keeping alive a strong trend of both these teams being involved in games with 2+ goals.

For Switzerland, six of their last seven have seen at least a couple of strikes, while nine of Bosnia’s last 10 games have all seen at least a couple of goals (5 of their last 6 have finished 1-1).

Switzerland, in particular, will feel unfortunate that they did not score more against Qatar, given they generated a massive 3.2xG.

Bosnia fashioned 0.98xG against Canada, but their coach lamented their defensive mindset in the game and will set his team out more offensively.

Bosnia and fouls have gone hand in hand in recent matches. In their opening World Cup fixture against Qatar, they committed 20 fouls, which is not an unusual figure for Sergej Barbarez’s side.

Indeed, it was the 5th time in 11 games that they have hit the 20-foul mark. Over the course of their 10-match qualifying run, they committed at least 14 fouls on nine of 10 occasions and were the most prolific criminals in UEFA in this regard.

Even accounting for extra time against Wales and Italy, they averaged 16.5 fouls per 90 – the highest figure in Europe. The Swiss, meanwhile, won 12.5 fouls per 90 on average but have not faced a team so prolific in this regard as Bosnia.

It came as a sizeable shock that Manzambi was left out of the starting XI for the Qatar clash, but the Freiburg midfielder is expected to come back into the team for this game, having offered two shots off the bench in a 25-minute cameo in the opening fixture.

That aligned with his shoot-on-sight reputation from the qualifiers, when he had 3.28 shots per 90 – a figure no Swiss player with more than 45 minutes of action could eclipse. He also had 2.96 shots per 90 in the Bundesliga last season, despite playing a more defensive role than he does with the Swiss.

Manzambi is a player who is willing to shoot from range, and again, a Bosnia team likely to sit back and defend, that attribute will allow him to get plenty of efforts away.

Sunjic was left out of Bosnia’s starting XI for their clash with Canada as he recovered from injury. Still, the likelihood is that he will start against Switzerland, having played almost every minute of qualifying.

No player committed more fouls than his 21 in the group stage, while he went on to commit three more in the playoffs. He has committed at least two fouls in eight of his last 10 international appearances and needed only 17 minutes to do so against Canada, coming off the bench.

Switzerland’s attacking midfielders won a combined nine fouls against Qatar, meanwhile.

Demirovic’s job will be to act as a battering ram at the forefront of the Bosnia attack.

He will be their out ball and will be physical and combative throughout this game, both to relieve pressure on the defence and to win set-piece opportunities his side can profit from. His foul numbers are enormous as he has committed at least two fouls in each of his last six starts for club and country.

During the qualifying campaign, he committed 17 fouls in seven games at a rate of 2.19 per 90. In the opening match against Canada, he gave away four free kicks.

Bosnia scored against Canada from a corner, and they will play with the intention of manufacturing set-pieces such as these around the Switzerland penalty area, as it is one of their strengths.

Although they only had 39% possession against the Canadians, they earned four corners, a figure they had reached comfortably in three of their four previous matches. Even playing defensively against Wales and Italy in the World Cup playoffs, they managed a total of nine and 10 corners, respectively, against those sides, plus hit another 10 against Panama in a warm-up friendly.

As such, this has been a winning bet in four of their last five games.

In 78 minutes against Qatar in the opening match, Ruben Vargas picked up a hefty four fouls won.

Against a Bosnia midfield that is prolific in giving away free kicks – Ivan Basic committed two fouls in the opening game while the fit-again Ivan Sunjic, who was their leading foul-maker in qualifying, may well start – this trend is primed to continue.

Vargas has been fouled on 2+ occasions in each of his last two starts for club and country, while he has also drawn at least one foul in each of his last five starts.

With the Bosnian midfield so prolific in giving away free kicks, he should draw another high foul count.

With Bosnia habitually picking up a high foul count, it’s unsurprising that they also receive a high number of cards.

They have seen at least three cards in five of their last six competitive games, with that run continuing against Canada in Matchday 1. Referee Joao Pinheiro, meanwhile, is a figure who is no stranger to dealing out cards this season. Across all competitions, he has shown 206 cards in 39 games – a rate of 5.28 per match.

His performances in big games have also tended towards many cards: he showed five in the UEFA Super Cup, six in the Champions League semi-final, and 10 in a Conference League quarter-final.

The exception was Nottingham Forest’s 1-0 Europa League win over Aston Villa, when he dealt out only 1 card. Expect the referee to be busy here.

After committing two fouls in the opening match against Qatar, Elvedi can expect a tough, physical battle against Ermin Demirovic, who is known for his combative and physical style.

While generally a clean defender – he only gave away three fouls in qualifying – it’s notable that he gave up free kicks against Sweden, who were spearheaded by Viktor Gyokeres, who is a similar striker to Demirovic in terms of his approach.

He will be put under pressure quickly and directly from a team that will specifically target winning fouls in dangerous areas, increasing the likelihood of a higher-than-usual foul count from the centre-back.

Sead Kolasinac was the standout performer for Bosnia in their 1-1 draw with Canada in the opening group game, as he provided the assist for the first goal, before then completing a spectacular goalline clearance. The former Arsenal defender was left frustrated at full-time as Canada eventually found the equaliser, making this a big game for Bosnia in the context of the group.

Kolasinac finished the match with three fouls - he was lucky to be let off without a booking by a lenient Facundo Tello. The 32-year-old will have another tough test on the defensive front here, coming up against the Swiss wide players.

The Swiss drew 12 fouls against Qatar last time out, and their wingers Ruben Vargas and Dan Ndoye combined to account for eight of those infringements. They sometimes look to interchange on the flanks, which will make life difficult for Kolasinac, who likes to be strong in his challenges.