MX23RW : Tuesday, April 16 12:11:16| >> :600:1776147:1776147:

5 talking points ahead of Northern Ireland's key clash with Switzerland

5 talking points ahead of Northern Ireland's key clash with Switzerland
© Reuters
Ian Baraclough's side could go second in Group C.

Northern Ireland host Switzerland in a crunch World Cup qualifier at Windsor Park on Wednesday.

After last week's win over Lithuania, the match gives Ian Baraclough's side the chance to move up to second place in Group C.

Here the PA news agency looks at five key talking points ahead of the match.

No revenge talk

Switzerland v Northern Ireland – FIFA World Cup – Qualifying Play-off – Second Leg – St Jakob Park
Switzerland broke Northern Irish hearts with a controversial World Cup qualifying play-off win in 2017 (Nick Potts/PA)

Let's get this one out of the way. Any meeting with Switzerland brings back memories of 2017, when Corry Evans was wrongly deemed to have handled the ball and Ricardo Rodriguez scored the penalty which ended Northern Irish hopes of reaching the 2018 World Cup. But though the topic has dominated much of the conversation in the build-up to the match, it is not one the players or coaches are interested in – captain Steven Davis said it would be a waste of energy and nothing more. Instead, they are focused only on what this match can do for their position in the group.

Build on Lithuania

Lithuania Northern Ireland WCup 2022 Soccer
Thursday's win in Lithuania has breathed life into Northern Ireland's qualifying campaign (Mindaugas Kulbis/AP)

Thursday's win in Vilnius was huge for several reasons. Baraclough's first competitive win inside 90 minutes breathed life into the qualifying campaign and put Northern Ireland within touching distance of the top two. They would perhaps rather have seen Jorginho score his penalty for Italy against the Swiss on Sunday, but even though that match ended goalless, Northern Ireland start the night three points behind Murat Yakin's side and with the chance to go above them.

Three on the bounce?

Results were slow to come for Baraclough early in his tenure, but there is a sense a corner has been turned this summer. After Shane Ferguson's thunderbolt made it two wins out of two this week, his side go into Wednesday's game having won three of their last four and both of their last two, having finally discovered their scoring touch. They last won three in a row in late 2019, when a run of four straight wins in Euro 2020 qualifying set them on their way to the play-offs.

More changes

Lithuania Northern Ireland WCup 2022 Soccer
Paddy McNair is suspended for Wednesday's match (Mindaugas Kulbis/AP)

Baraclough made nine changes for the Estonia match as he wrapped most of those who started against Lithuania in cotton wool. With Jonny Evans, Corry Evans, Stuart Dallas and Josh Magennis still missing, he can be expected to flip back to the side that started in Vilnius, but must decide how to replace Paddy McNair – who is banned after being booked on Thursday. Tom Flanagan may come in as a third centre-back, or Baraclough may change shape, ditching the 3-5-2 formation he has preferred in most competitive fixtures.

The fans are back

Northern Ireland v Romania – UEFA Nations League – Group B1 – Windsor Park
Northern Ireland fans will be back in numbers on Wednesday night (Niall Carson/PA)

Windsor Park should be back to something approaching its raucous best with 16,000 fans permitted to attend the match. It is more than 600 days since the national stadium was last full for a Northern Ireland match, with Baraclough yet to experience anything more than the 1,000 fans who attended last November's Euro 2020 play-off final against Slovakia. Windsor Park has been a vital fortress for Northern Ireland in recent years – can it be so again?

ID:462657:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect9204:
Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Shane Ferguson celebrates scoring for Millwall on January 6, 2019
Read Next:
Shane Ferguson insists Northern Ireland are ready for Switzerland challenge
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free match previews newsletter! Updates are sent twice a week.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City32227376324473
2Arsenal32225575264971
3Liverpool32218372314171
4Aston Villa33196868491963
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs32186865491660
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle321551269521750
7Manchester UnitedMan Utd32155124748-150
8West Ham UnitedWest Ham33139115258-648
9Chelsea31138106152947
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton321111105250244
11Wolverhampton WanderersWolves32127134651-543
12Fulham33126154951-242
13Bournemouth32119124757-1042
14Crystal Palace3289153754-1733
15Brentford3388174758-1132
16Everton3298153248-1627
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3379174258-1626
18Luton TownLuton3367204670-2425
19Burnley3348213368-3520
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd3237223084-5416


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!