After both making winning starts to the Swiss Super League season last weekend, Servette and FC Zurich will meet at the Stade de Geneve on Saturday in the second round of top-flight fixtures.
The hosts beat Grasshoppers in their curtain-raiser and most recently began their Champions League qualifying campaign against Genk on Tuesday, while the visitors got past Yverdon on the opening day.
Match preview
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Servette headed into the new Swiss Super League season on the back of a strong campaign last time around, in which they finished second in the top flight for the first time since 1999.
In their 36 league outings, Les Grenats picked up 58 points, successfully staying just ahead of Lugano with four victories and a draw from the last five games and booking a place in the second round of Champions League qualifying as a result.
Following that pleasing finish and a positive pre-season campaign, in which they dished out beatings to Xamax, Stade Nyonnais, Cercle Brugge and Rapperswil-Jona, Servette headed turned their attention to the new campaign under the new management of Rene Weiler, following long-term boss Alain Geiger's summer departure, and began with a trip to Grasshoppers last Saturday.
Chris Bedia put them ahead in the 16th minute, and although the hosts quickly drew level through Tsiy-William Ndenge, Bedia would restore his side's lead on the hour mark, before Enzo Crivelli converted a penalty 13 minutes from time to seal an opening-day 3-1 win on their travels.
Now on the back of a 1-1 draw at home to Belgian outfit Genk in the first leg of their Champions League second qualifying round tie, in which Steve Rouiller netted a 77th-minute leveller following Tolu Arokodare's first-half opener for the visitors, Servette will turn their attention back to domestic action and look to make it two wins from two in the Super League under Weiler's leadership.
Their visitors, meanwhile, are also looking for back-to-back wins to start the term as they seek to bounce back from a disappointing league campaign last time around.
On the back of winning their 13th Swiss Super League title in the 2021-22 season, FC Zurich only managed to finish eighth in the 10-team division last time around, picking up 44 points from their 36 games having only won 10 matches while suffering 12 defeats.
They would indeed remain in the bottom three throughout almost the entirety of the campaign, with Bo Henriksen's October appointment not inspiring any sustained upturn, and although they finished just three points outside of the top five and the final European qualifying place, FCZ did still trail St. Gallen and Grasshoppers too after a final-day defeat to Lugano.
Seeking to put that tough term behind them and improve this time around, and following a pre-season campaign which consisted of resounding victories over Kreuzlingen, Dietikon, Rapperswil-Jona and Schaffhausen, they began in the Super League at home to Yverdon Sport on Sunday and went into half time a goal to the good thanks to Jonathan Okita's 27th-minute opener.
Nikola Katic then found the net early in the second half to wrap up a 2-0 home victory for FCZ, and Henriksen's men will now aim to make it two on the bounce in a tougher test away at Servette.
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Team News
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Servette only made two changes to their starting XI between their league curtain-raiser and the Champions League qualifying meeting with Genk, as Bradley Mazikou replaced Anthony Baron at left-back and Alexis Antunes came in on the right wing in Miroslav Stevanovic's absence, and we should again see a very similar starting side in their preferred 4-4-2 setup.
The attack will again be led by Chris Bedia, who netted a brace in their win away at Grasshoppers after notching up 12 league goals last term.
He should again be partnered by Enzo Crivelli, while David Douline and Timothe Cognat will keep their places in the engine room, and Steve Rouiller and Yoan Severin should continue their partnership at the heart of the back line.
Following their impressive display in the opening league game against Yverdon Sport last weekend, Bo Henriksen could deploy an unchanged FC Zurich team on Saturday in a 3-4-3 shape, although after coming on at half time in that meeting, Silvan Wallner could earn a place in the back three alongside Nikola Katic and Lindrit Kamberi.
With last season's top scorer Aiyegun Tosin having departed for Lorient over the summer, Daniel Afriyie will likely continue to lead the line, while winger Jonathan Okita will look to add to his tally after getting off the mark for the campaign with the opener against Yverdon.
Fabian Rohner could again complete the front three, although Bledian Krasniqi is fighting to take his place, while Cheick Conde and Ifeanyi Mathew should play in the engine room.
Servette possible starting lineup:
Frick; Tsunemoto, Severin, Rouiller, Mazikou; Antunes, Douline, Cognat, Kutesa; Bedia, Crivelli
FC Zurich possible starting lineup:
Brecher; Kamberi, Katic, Wallner; Boranijasevic, Conde, Mathew, Guerrero; Rohner, Afriyie, Okita
We say: Servette 2-1 FC Zurich
We anticipate a close and entertaining contest on Saturday, but with home advantage and plenty of quality throughout their squad, we fancy Servette to just get over the line and make it two wins from two games.
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Top tip
Sam Varley
