Corry Evans becomes the sixth player to pull out of the Northern Ireland group; watch Switzerland vs Northern Ireland live on Sky Sports Football at 7.15pm on Saturday, kick-off 7.45pm
Friday 8 October 2021 14:45, UK
Team news ahead of the World Cup Qualifier between Switzerland and Northern Ireland on Saturday; kick-off 7.45pm.
Northern Ireland are due to face Switzerland in Geneva on Saturday night in a pivotal qualifier - they start the match three points behind the Swiss in the race for second place in Group C - before heading to Sofia to face Bulgaria.
Group C had opened up when Switzerland held Italy to a 0-0 draw in September.
But the latest matchday saw the Azzurri stretch their lead at the summit to six points as they thrashed rock-bottom Lithuania 5-0 while the Swiss were thwarted in a stalemate with Northern Ireland. The pair are now set for a crunch meeting in the bid to finish second.
"Big players were missing last month but we still performed," Northern Ireland manager Ian Baraclough said. "It's testament to the way the boys have gone about their work. We managed to cover those losses and still hit the levels we did.
"We need to take this into November and that's the message. If we can still be in with a shout right until the last game when we play Italy at home, it'll be a great achievement from the boys. We know the next game is massive as if we win at Switzerland, we'd go above them in the group.
"They will see it as an opportunity to pull away from us and then Italy would be there to be shot at for them. We're determined to keep this campaign alive in November."
Northern Ireland have suffered a further injury setback with Corry Evans forced to withdraw from Baraclough's squad while his brother Jonny is yet to report to camp.
Sunderland midfielder Corry Evans becomes the sixth player to pull out of the group for the World Cup qualifiers against Switzerland and Bulgaria after Shayne Lavery, Ali McCann, Gavin Whyte, Michael Smith and Trevor Carson were forced to withdraw.
And there is now a bigger concern with Leicester defender Jonny Evans yet to join up before the team travels to Switzerland on Thursday.
The centre-back has been managing a long-term foot injury, with Baraclough saying last week it would be the player himself who made a decision on his fitness for the fixtures.
Evans was not involved in either Leicester's Europa League defeat to Legia Warsaw or Sunday's 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace - with his last appearance coming in the Carabao Cup win over Millwall on September 22.
Both of the Evans brothers were missing for last month's internationals, in which Northern Ireland took four qualifying points with a win in Lithuania and a draw at home to Switzerland either side of a friendly victory in Estonia.
On Monday, Baraclough added Liverpool goalkeeper Liam Hughes, Leyton Orient striker Paul Smyth, Sunderland midfielder Carl Winchester and Morecambe defender Ryan McLaughlin to his group, but he will not replace Corry Evans.
Switzerland vs Northern Ireland is live on Sky Sports Football from 7.15pm on Saturday, kick-off 7.45pm. Sky Sports customers can watch in-game clips in the live match blog on the Sky Sports website and app. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms shortly after the final whistle.
