Euro 2016: France vs Switzerland preview

France and Switzerland fight for top spot in Group A when the two teams clash on Sunday in their final match before the first knockout stage. France have already sealed their qualification after two consecutive wins, while Switzerland will qualify if they don't lose this match, regardless of the other results. But the two teams will think about victory, as the three points in this match would allow the winner to finish top of the group. Switzerland have never beaten France in a competitive match. However, they do have 12 friendly wins against France, while the French have won 16 of the direct encounters.

France needed late goals in both their matches so far, but their results show two wins out of two. Against Romania Dimitri Payet came to the rescue with a superb goal on 89 minutes, while against Albania it was Antoine Griezmann who broke the deadlock in the 90th minute. Head coach Didier Deschamps will have to make some changes because leaving it so late against a team like Switzerland might prove too costly. The French squad has plenty of talent in it but so far Deschamps seems to have been unable to find the right system for his players.

Switzerland are very close to achieving their objective of reaching the last 16, but they can do one better by finishing top of the group. They started with a narrow 1-0 win over group minnows Albania and then fought back to clinch a 1-1 draw against Romania in a match they dominated. Haris Seferovic wasted plenty of chances in that second match and that performance might see Breel Embolo take his place in the first eleven. Switzerland are very likely to qualify even if they lose this match, and this knowledge might give the Swiss players the opportunity to play with less pressure on their shoulders.

Probable line-ups:

France: Lloris - Sagna, Koscielny, Rami, Evra - Pogba, Kante, Matuidi - Griezmann, Giroud, Payet

Switzerland: Sommer - Lichtsteiner, Schar, Djourou, Rodriguez - Xhaka, Behrami - Shaqiri, Dzemaili, Mehmedi - Embolo

My prediction: France to win 2-1.

Here are the odds for the match at Bet365:

France win - 1.95 Draw - 3.00 Switzerland win - 5.50