Basel and Grasshopper Zurich clash at St Jakob-Park in the Swiss Super League on Thursday night in a fixture that could have important implications at both the top and bottom.
In a six-horse race for the title, Basel are well placed to hunt down Servette at the summit, while Grasshoppers need a big turnaround in fortunes if they are to avoid finishing in the relegation playoff spot.
Match preview
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Lausanne may have fallen off the pace in recent weeks, but the entire top six in Switzerland remain separated by just six points as we edge closer to the league's split.
Lugano were the only team in the top six who did not win at the weekend, falling to defeat to leaders Servette, and that result prevented Fabio Celestini's Basel from moving into first place.
Basel returned to winning ways by seeing off struggling Winterthur 2-0 at the weekend, with Xherdan Shaqiri and Benie Traore getting amongst the goals after the interval in what was just a second victory in seven games.
That run of underwhelming form has allowed Servette, who have won six of their last seven, to move to the top of the standings, while Young Boys appear to be the big threat coming from the pack, despite spending most of the season in the bottom half.
Basel have not won the title since 2016-17, which at the time was their eighth straight success, as Young Boys have reigned supreme for most of the last decade, and with seven wins from nine, they look destined to hunt down Celestini's men.
Sitting just two points off first place and with the league's most-potent attack though, scoring six more than any other side, Basel will hope to take advantage of a favourable fixture here, with Servette and Young Boys facing each other this midweek.
However, after winning 3-0 in Zurich back in August, Basel slipped up in the second meeting between the two this season shortly before the winter break, losing 1-0 on home soil, and any repeat of that in such a crucial stage of the season could be fatal to their hopes.
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Staggering, given the history of both clubs, the two found themselves in the relegation group last season, and even though Basel have improved greatly, Grasshoppers will find themselves in the same predicament.
Tomas Oral's side are second-from-bottom with four games left of the regular season, with a repeat of last season's 11th-placed finish looking likely, which would condemn them to the relegation playoff.
Winterthur are seven points adrift and almost certain for automatic relegation, but Grasshoppers find themselves five points behind Yverdon in 10th, and Oral has seen his side struggle for momentum in recent weeks.
Too many draws have allowed the sides above them to move clear, as Grasshoppers have won just one of their last 10 matches, and they were beaten 2-1 at home to rivals FC Zurich at the weekend in a result that certainly flattered Oral's men.
Grasshoppers beats FC Thun to survive relegation in the playoff last season, and it will be either the same opponents or FC Aarau who will wait for them this time around, unless they can the make the most of facing both Winterthur and Yverdon before the league splits at the end of the month, ahead of the five-match relegation group window.
Team News
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Bosnia international Adrian Leon Barisic is the only current absentee for Basel, after the defender returned from international duty with an injury last week.
The evergreen Shaqiri will be their key man in attack, as another goal at the weekend took his goal involvements tally to 23 in 25 league matches this season, while striker Kevin Carlos will hope to end a four-game scoring drought and rediscover the early-season form that has seen him reach double figures for goals.
Grasshoppers will be without Benno Schmitz after his booking at the weekend triggered a one-match suspension, while Bryan Lasme suffered another injury setback just 15 minutes after coming off the bench in the defeat to Zurich.
Bayern Munich-loanee Nestory Irankunda has flattered to deceive since joining the club on loan in January, failing to find the net in any of his 10 starts so far, so they may need to rely on goalkeeper Justin Hammel once again, after he made 11 saves at the weekend to prevent Zurich from running riot in the derby.
Basel possible starting lineup:
Hitz; Ruegg, Adjetey, Vouilloz, Schmid; Avdullahu, Metinho; Traore, Shaqiri, Otele; Kevin
Grasshopper Zurich possible starting lineup:
Hammel; Abels, Seko, Ndenge, Persson; Kittel, Choiniere, Abrashi, Morandi, Irankunda; Bojang
We say: Basel 3-0 Grasshopper Zurich
Basel may have slipped up against Grasshoppers in their last meeting, and form has hardly been encouraging over the last month or so, but winning away to Winterthur at the weekend should provide some confidence for a side with the most favourable midweek fixture.
Grasshoppers have been well below-par since beating Basel in mid-December, and with just one win in 10 games, it is unlikely a rare one is going to come here away to one of the main title contenders.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Andrew Delaney
