(Football news) Pre-tournament favourites Brazil will take on Switzerland in their second match of Group G at Stadium 974, hoping that a victory will secure passage in the Round of 16. Expectations are high after the Seleção’s convincing 2-0 win over Serbia at the Lusail Stadium, a venue they hope to return to in three weeks time for the finals. Serbia, who many considered to be one of the ‘dark horses’ of the tournament were made to look very ordinary by Tite’s side with Tottenham’s Richarlison proving his doubters wrong by scoring a brace in the second half.

The five time World Cup winners secured their eighth successive victory in all competitions and have remained unbeaten since their 2021 Copa America final. In that time, Brazil have scored 28 goals and could have scored a lot more against Serbia, had they taken their chances. Meanwhile, their opponents Switzerland also secured three points in their opening match, getting a 1-0 win over Cameroon with goalkeeper Yann Sommer having little to do. The match was an indication of Cameroon’s lack of quality as well as Switzerland’s solidity, factors that could make a big difference on the longer run in the competition for the European team.

In team news, Neymar is the big absentee for Brazil as he suffered an ankle ligament injury against Serbia and will be out of the remaining Group Stage matches. This means that Tite will need to make some tactical adjustments for the match and might start with Fred to give his team more solidity. Right-back Danilo is also out for the rest of the Group Stage matches, which means that veteran Dani Alves could potentially feature in his first World Cup fixture since 2014 but realistically, Real Madrid’s Eder Militao is the likely candidate to fill the role.

As for Switzerland, their new formation means that Fabian Schar can no longer start as the third centre back with the likes of Nico Elvedi and Manuel Akanji being preferred in the starting lineup. Denis Zakaria is unlikely to feature once again, having had a difficult year with both Juventus and Chelsea and Yakin is not expected to make any major changes for this fixture. While Switzerland are expected to do better than Serbia, Brazil have far too much quality to not get a win in this match and secure qualification for the Round of 16.

Brazil possible starting lineup:

Alisson; Eder Militao, Thiago Silva, Marquinhos, Alex Sandro; Casemiro, Fred, Paqueta; Raphinha, Richarlison, Vinicius Junior

Switzerland possible starting lineup:

Sommer; Widmer; Akanji, Elvedi, Rodriguez; Freuler, Xhaka, Sow; Shaqiri, Embolo, Vargas

Also read: 2022 World Cup: Portugal look to secure qualification by defeating Uruguay