Scotland welcome Switzerland to Hampden Park on Tuesday night as Sébastien Pocognoli takes charge of his first home game.

The new era began with a 0-0 draw in Slovenia on Saturday. Scotland took time to settle but were much better after the break, with Oli McBurnie and Kieron Bowie both passing up good opportunities. Robbie Ure also hit the post in the first half.

Switzerland were considerably more clinical.

Murat Yakin’s side won 3-0 away to North Macedonia, with Remo Freuler opening the scoring before Zeki Amdouni struck twice. That followed an impressive World Cup campaign which ended against Argentina in the quarter-finals.

Both countries were relegated from League A last time around, but Switzerland have immediately taken control of Group B1.

Scotland now get their first chance to respond at Hampden.

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Both teams to score

Scotland didn’t find the net in Slovenia, but the performance offered more encouragement than the scoreline suggests.

Ure hit the post before McBurnie and Bowie both had big opportunities after half-time. Pocognoli’s changes also helped Scotland become far more aggressive after the break.

The new manager wants that approach from the beginning at Hampden.

Switzerland will be much more dangerous going the other way. They scored three times in Skopje and have now won three of their last four matches, with their only defeat in that sequence coming against Argentina at the World Cup.

However, the Swiss are without some important experienced players.

Scotland should offer more attacking threat with a home crowd behind them, but keeping Switzerland quiet for 90 minutes is another matter.

Zeki Amdouni to score anytime

Amdouni couldn’t have asked for a much better start to the campaign.

The forward scored twice against North Macedonia, including an excellent individual second after weaving beyond a defender before finding the bottom corner. He also forced another save before being withdrawn late on.

With Breel Embolo unavailable during this international window, Amdouni has an opportunity to establish himself as Switzerland’s main number nine.

Scotland allowed Slovenia some dangerous moments despite keeping a clean sheet on Saturday.

Billy Gilmour 1+ foul committed

This is a slightly different angle.

Gilmour returned to the Scotland midfield against Slovenia after missing the World Cup through injury and produced an excellent second-half performance. Pocognoli has already spoken about how important his ability on the ball could be to his plans.

Switzerland’s midfield should give him plenty of defensive work too.

Freuler, Ardon Jashari and Fabian Rieder were all involved in the win over North Macedonia, while Johan Manzambi operates dangerously between midfield and attack.

Gilmour is likely to spend plenty of time around the centre of the action. One foul across 90 minutes isn’t a huge ask in what should be a competitive midfield battle.

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What have the managers said?

Sébastien Pocognoli:

Pocognoli isn’t concerned by Scotland failing to score in his first game.

Scotland created several chances against Slovenia, and the new manager wants his team to reproduce their second-half performance at Hampden.

“We try to be aggressive and take control of the game.”

He also made it clear Scotland won’t simply sit off Switzerland because of the quality of Tuesday’s opponents.

“We want to show that we are at home.”

Pocognoli described Switzerland as a “very good team” but wants Scotland to dictate as much of the game as possible on his Hampden debut.

Murat Yakin:

Yakin was unable to conduct Switzerland’s pre-match press conference after suffering hearing problems caused by pressure during the team’s delayed flight to Glasgow.

He was able to take training at Hampden afterwards, with assistant coach Davide Calla instead speaking to the media.

Calla warned that Scotland looked much stronger as their game against Slovenia progressed.

“In the second half against Slovenia they showed the quality they have.”

He also highlighted Scotland’s midfield and expects a physical game at Hampden.

“They will be robust, play with a lot of passion.”

Switzerland could make changes after Saturday’s win, although Calla said the final decision will depend partly on managing players’ workloads.

What is Scotland’s predicted team?

(3-5-2) Gunn; Hendry, McKenna, Welsh; Hickey, Gilmour, Ferguson, McGinn, Robertson; Ure, McBurnie.

Injured: Scott McTominay, Ché Adams, Lawrence Shankland.

Unavailable: Kieran Tierney, Kenny McLean.

Scotland came through Saturday’s draw without any fresh injuries. However, Pocognoli remains without several established players, including McTominay, Adams and Tierney.

Stephen Welsh and Robbie Ure made their senior debuts against Slovenia and could keep their places.

Billy Gilmour should also remain in midfield after impressing on his return to the international side.

What is Switzerland’s predicted team?

(4-2-3-1) Kobel; Athekame, Elvedi, Akanji, Rodríguez; Jashari, Freuler; Rieder, Manzambi, Ndoye; Amdouni.

Unavailable: Granit Xhaka, Breel Embolo.

Switzerland could name the same XI that comfortably beat North Macedonia.

Amdouni should continue through the middle after scoring twice in Skopje, while Freuler also found the net from midfield.

There had been some concern over Manzambi following a heavy challenge against North Macedonia, but Calla said the midfielder is fine.

Scotland vs Switzerland prediction

There was enough in Scotland’s second-half performance against Slovenia to suggest Pocognoli is already beginning to get some of his ideas across.

Hampden should help too.

But Switzerland represent a significant step up. Even without Xhaka and Embolo, Yakin can call upon Akanji, Freuler, Ndoye and an in-form Amdouni.

The last meeting between these countries finished 1-1 at Euro 2024, and another tight contest looks likely.

Scotland can cause problems, but Switzerland’s greater cutting edge could ultimately be the difference.

Score prediction: Scotland 1-2 Switzerland

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