Looking to bounce back from a 4-0 defeat in their last game, Lausanne Sport are set to host St Gallen at the Stade de la Tuiliere on Sunday in the Swiss Super League.
The hosts are seventh in the league with one win and one loss from their opening two matches, while the visitors are joint on points but in fifth due to a higher goal difference.
Match preview
© Imago
After being promoted in second place from the Challenge League in 2022-23, Lausanne had a positive first campaign back in the Swiss top flight during the regular season, finishing in eighth place with 40 points, qualifying for the relegation round.
They did face difficulties during the post-split season though, losing two, drawing two and winning just one of their five matches in the relegation round to finish in fourth place, only seven points above Grasshopper Zurich in the relegation playoff spot.
Ludovic Magnin's side endured a mixed pre-season, winning two and losing two of their five matches, and they have continued that form into the 2024-25 Swiss Super League.
The Blue and White picked up a hard-fought victory against Basel in their opening league match, winning 3-2 thanks to goals from Teddy Okou, Fousseni Diabate and Mamadou Kaly Sene.
However, Lausanne were heavily defeated 4-0 by FC Sion in their most recent outing, an extremely disappointing result against a newly-promoted side, and Magnin will be looking for a significantly improved performance here.
Their visitors have similarly won one and lost one of their opening two league fixtures, narrowly losing 1-0 to Winterthur on the opening day before an outstanding performance saw them thrash the reigning champions, Young Boys, 4-0.
Enrico Maassen, who joined the side ahead of the new term, has also led his side into the third qualifying round for the Europa Conference League having convincingly defeated Tobol 5-1 across two legs in the second qualifying round.
Having lost that opening match of the campaign, they now arrive into this game with three successive wins across all competitions, scoring an impressive nine goals and conceding just one in that time.
Maassen will be hoping his side can continue their positive form with a victory in this one as he aims to go one better than St Gallen's fifth-placed finish in the Championship round last year, dropping one position from their fourth place in the regular season.
St Gallen have been the dominant force in this fixture in recent years, not losing since November 2021 and winning four of the last five matches, including three of their last four visits to Stade de la Tuiliere.
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Team News
The hosts will remain without the services of English forward Trae Coyle, who has been out of action since suffering a cruciate ligament injury in January.
Diabate, who was involved in two of the side's three goals in their opening-day victory against Basel, was forced off in the 42nd minute of their humiliating loss to Sion and is a doubt for this one.
Despite a defeat in their most recent outing, Magnin could keep faith in the same starting 11 for this game having performed well in their league-opener a fortnight ago.
St Gallen will also be without Betim Fazliji for the foreseeable future after suffering a cruciate ligament injury in November, while Gregory Karlen is also set to remain on the treatment table.
Chadrac Akolo was taken off the pitch after 36 minutes in their 4-0 win against Young Boys, but the forward returned to the bench for their second-leg victory against Tobol and could be in line for a start here.
Lausanne Sport possible starting lineup:
Letica; Giger, Mouanga, Dussenne, Poaty; Sanches, Custodio, Bernede; Okou, Sene, Ajdini
St Gallen possible starting lineup:
Ati; Schmidt, Diaby, Vallci, Okoroji; Gortler, Quintilla, Witzig; Toma; Akolo, Geubbels
We say: Lausanne Sport 0-2 St Gallen
St Gallen have excellently bounced back from their opening day defeat to Winterthur, scoring nine goals and conceding just one in their following matches, while the hosts will be low on confidence after a humiliating defeat to Sion, suggesting the visitors will win this one.
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Ellis Stevens
