Lausanne Sport will be hoping to secure their first win of the Swiss Super League season when they face off against Yverdon Sport at Stade de la Tuiliere on Sunday afternoon.
Both of these sides were promoted to the Super League last season and have taken just one point from their first two matches of the season, with the hosts currently in eighth place while the visitors are in 10th.
Match preview
Following relegation in the 2021-22 season, the hosts finished last term in second place in the Swiss Challenge League with 61 points after 36 matches, five points behind their opponents in this match.
Lausanne's return to the top flight got off to a difficult start as they were drawn against the defending champions Young Boys on the opening matchday, and despite putting on an impressive display, they conceded their first loss of the season.
However, their performance in the match was admirable as they held the champions at 1-1 for the entire 90 minutes before conceding a stoppage-time penalty which Cedric Itten slotted away to secure the points for YB.
Having been a defender in his playing days, it comes as little surprise that Ludovic Magnin's side is built on the foundation of a solid defence that maintained the best record in the Challenge League last season, conceding just 43 goals, which was 10 fewer than any other side.
They earned their first point last week against Grasshoppers in a 1-1 draw and will be looking forward to this encounter, having got the better of this opponent in both matches at this venue last season.
Meanwhile, the visitors topped the Challenge League last season with a record of 20 wins, six draws and 10 losses, securing their fourth-ever promotion to the Super League, though they have never remained in the top flight for more than two consecutive seasons.
Like their opponents, Yverdon-Sport faced a stern test in their opening fixture against the 2021-22 league champions FC Zurich and were outplayed for the majority of the match, eventually losing 2-0.
However, last week they managed to record arguably the biggest upset of the weekend by holding Young Boys to a 2-2 draw after going behind twice in the match thanks to goals from Varol Tasar and Evans Maurin.
Despite winning the Challenge League last season, Marco Schallibaum's side had a relatively modest away record of 29 points taken from a possible 54, which was the third-best in the league behind Stade Lausanne-Ouchy and FC Aarau.
While they did lose both away matches against this opponent last season, that 2-2 draw against the defending champions last week would have given the visitors a huge boost of confidence, and with some of the bigger sides stuttering in the early stages, a win here could see them move into the top half of the table in these crucial early stages of the campaign.
Team News
Magnin opted for an unchanged lineup against Grasshoppers last week, and it would come as no surprise we saw the same in this match.
Aliou Balde and Alvyn Sanches's positions were swopped in a tactical move last week, with the latter playing a more advanced role while Antoine Bernede and Olivier Custodio will likely continue to provide defensive cover deeper in midfield.
Schallibaum's decision to revert to a five-man midfield seemed to work much better in the last match, and we will likely see the same here with Brian Beyer playing on the right flank.
Silva is the only injury absentee for the visitors, and it has been reported that the midfielder is likely to miss a large chunk of the season with a severe cruciate ligament injury.
Lausanne Sport possible starting lineup:
Castella; Giger, Dussenne, Husic, Brown; Bernede, Custodio, Balde; Ilie, Sene, Sanches
Yverdon Sport possible starting lineup:
Martin; Sauthier, Malula, Del Fabro, Le Pogam; Tasar, Fargues, Cespedes, Lusuena, Beyer; Omoruyi
We say: Lausanne Sport 2-1 Yverdon Sport
While the visitors did win the Challenge League last season, they were unable to overcome this opponent on their home patch. The hosts looked solid against Grasshoppers last week, and against a familiar foe in this one, we fancy they will be able to secure a narrow victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Devesh Jaganath
