FC Sion vs Basel
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Today’s free tip is in the Swiss Super League encounter between FC Sion and FC Basel.
I’ve been one of Sion’s biggest champions this season, which feels weird to be able to say, but it’s true. However, there’s not a chance in hell that FC Basel should be priced as long as they have been to beat them. Just…no. By no means am I guaranteeing an away win, but the visitors are still quite some distance ahead of their hosts, whether it shows or not.
Here’s the thing. FC Sion started their campaign well because they had no injuries to their thin squad. They had some favourable fixtures, had obviously worked harder on their fitness than most of their rivals, and things went their way. I would argue that they can’t play any better than they did in those games though; they simply stole a march on other teams that weren’t as galvanised as they were because other teams made transfers whilst FC Sion…well, who knows what the hell they were doing. All I know is that it involved losing players rather than acquiring them, for the most part!
That time is coming to an end now though; other teams have either caught up or are catching up to them in terms of fitness. In the meantime, FC Sion have finally made two signings but it’s only scratching the surface, and both new signings aren’t likely to play here anyway; Moubandje is carrying a knock, and Balotelli hasn’t played regularly in ages. Moubandje will finally add balance at left-back, freeing up Baltazar to play in a more familiar advanced role, and Balotelli – well, you all know how good he can be when he feels like it. I’d almost argue that the latter wasn’t what they needed though; they need workhorses, FC Sion.
No, I’m not forgetting about Cyprien; he was a fine acquisition too, although he hasn’t been at his best for years, and is injured anyway. It just feels like FC Sion are slowly undoing all of the good work that they did earlier in the season by signing players that are unwanted, unconvincing, or toward the end of their respective careers, and that approach in the past has almost always made the team more apathetic. I don’t know what else to tell you; FC Sion have been rumbled, and really don’t have anything else to offer right now.
Let’s not pretend FC Basel are perfect either, because they’re really not. However, the visitors are making progress. Not only are they in the process of a revamp of their stadium, but they’ve employed an attack-minded manager (former club legend Frei), and he’s made some very exciting signings – mostly younger players too. I’m still a tad puzzled by the way he’s almost punishing Pelmard if you like, and the arrival of a new left-back makes it unlikely that Pelmard (a proven CB by trade) will be playing at left-back once the Italian lad has settled – harsh on a player who has been their only good defender for a year.
Sometimes managers need to be harsh though, and although FC Basel’s finishing this season has been much maligned, Frei has taken drastic steps to correct it. I won’t read much into their 4-2 win against FC Zurich because they’re honestly just dreadful, but Zeqiri looks like he can be their new Cabral, Fink arrives with a lot of promise, and there’s plenty of others in support too. He’s introduced options, and good attacking movement, Frei. It’s come at the expense of some stalwarts of the past few years but the early signs are encouraging, no matter what the Swiss media says.
Breaking FC Sion down is tough though; don’t suffer from any illusions there. Defending is FC Sion’s bread and butter; without it they’d be relegated. FC Basel are going to have to find a way through, and that will still be a challenge. Still, with a big lad like Zeqiri up front, and a whole lot of options in terms of chance creation (including the highly impressive Amdouni), I have to believe that the visitors will manage it sooner or later, and when they do they should be able to kill the game off, either via countering or by defending against a team that isn’t used to committing men forward, and tries their best not to.
Whether it comes in or not, I’m sure you’d agree that the away win at 13/10 is a risk worth taking with the above in mind.
Verdict: FC Basel to win at 13/10.
Saturday’s Thoughts
As ever, if there are any explanations required then please feel free to post a comment! For the remainder of my thoughts on today’s games, see below, although I feel compelled to write that the below are not necessarily my tips but merely my thoughts. For confidence ratings, you’ll need to go to the members section here.
Austrian Bundesliga:
Salzburg vs WSG Tirol
Austria Vienna vs Austria Lustenau
Sturm Graz vs Hartberg
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
Racing Genk vs Sint-Truiden
KV Mechelen vs RFC Seraing
AS Eupen vs Kortrijk
Standard de Liege vs KV Oostende
Brazilian Serie A:
Juventude vs Avai
RB Bragantino vs Palmeiras
Athletico Paranaense vs Fluminense
America Mineiro vs Coritiba
Bulgarian A PFG:
Spartak Varna vs CSKA Sofia
Lokomotiv Plovdiv vs Botev Plovdiv
Croatian Prva Liga:
Varazdin vs Gorica
NK Osijek vs Sibenik
Czechia Liga 1:
Teplice vs Baumit Jablonec
Slovan Liberec vs Viktoria Plzen
Ceske Budejovice vs Mlada Boleslav
Sparta Prague vs Zlin
English Premier League:
Everton vs Liverpool
Brentford vs Leeds United
Newcastle United vs Crystal Palace
Chelsea vs West Ham United
Nottingham Forest vs Bournemouth
Tottenham Hotspur vs Fulham
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Southampton
Aston Villa vs Manchester City
Estonian Meistriliiga:
Trans Narva vs Tammeka
Nomme Kalju vs Flora Paide
Finnish Veikkausliiga:
KuPS vs Ilves
SJK vs VPS
Finnish Ykkonen:
MP vs JaPS
Jaro Pietarsaari vs PIF
Ekenas IF vs KPV
TPS vs Gnistan
PK-35 Helsinki vs KTP
PEPO vs SJK-Akatemia
French Ligue 1:
AJ Auxerre vs Olympique de Marseille
Olympique Lyonnais vs Angers SCO
FC Nantes Atlantique vs Paris Saint-Germain
German Bundesliga:
Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs SC Freiburg
Union Berlin vs Bayern Munich
VfL Wolfsburg vs Koln
VfL Bochum vs Werder Bremen
VfB Stuttgart vs Schalke 04
Eintracht Frankfurt vs RB Leipzig
German Bundesliga 2:
Greuther Furth vs St. Pauli
Paderborn 07 vs Magdeburg
Jahn Regensburg vs Holstein Kiel
Hamburger SV vs Karlsruher SC
Hungarian Liga 1:
Kecskemeti TE vs Paksi SE
Vasas Budapest vs Puskas FC
Debreceni VSC vs Fehervar
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
Maccabi Tel-Aviv vs Ironi Kiryat Shmona
Hapoel Jerusalem vs MS Ashdod
Hapoel Haifa vs Bnei Sakhnin
Hapoel Be’er Sheva vs Maccabi Haifa
Italian Serie A:
ACF Fiorentina vs Juventus
AC Milan vs Internazionale
SS Lazio vs SSC Napoli
Italian Serie B:
Ascoli vs Cittadella
Bari vs SPAL
Brescia vs Perugia
Frosinone vs Como
Reggina vs Palermo
Ternana vs Cosenza
Venezia vs Benevento
Genoa vs Parma
Lithuanian A Lyga:
Dziugas Telsiai vs Zalgiris Vilnius
Riteriai vs Jonava
Dutch Eredivisie:
AFC Ajax Amsterdam vs Cambuur Leeuwarden
FC Twente Enschede vs PSV Eindhoven
Sparta Rotterdam vs FC Volendam
Go Ahead Eagles vs Feyenoord Rotterdam
Norwegian Eliteserien:
Bodo/Glimt vs Molde FK
Portuguese Liga 1:
Sporting Braga vs Vitoria Guimaraes
Gil Vicente vs FC Porto
Romanian Liga 1:
UTA Arad vs Chindia Targoviste
FC Voluntari vs Rapid Bucharest
Spanish Primera Liga:
Real Mallorca vs Girona
Real Madrid vs Real Betis Balompie
Real Sociedad vs Atletico Madrid
Sevilla vs Barcelona
Swiss Super League:
FC Sion vs Basel
FC Zurich vs Lugano
Swiss Challenge League:
Aarau vs FC Wil
Stade Lausanne-Ouchy vs Neuchatel Xamax
Turkish Super Lig:
Sivasspor vs Fatih Karagumruk
Istanbul Basaksehir vs Alanyaspor
Fenerbahce vs Kayserispor
Giresunspor vs Konyaspor
Enjoy your free betting tips!