Servette vs FC Basel
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Today’s free tip is in the Swiss Super League encounter between Servette and FC Basel in Geneva.
I toyed with backing Servette here but I find it too hard to oppose FC Basel nowadays. Contrary to what the Super League table suggests, they seldom actually play well. However, the visitors have been absolutely bloody ruthless in front of goal, and that’s a mighty fine pet to have, isn’t it? Cabral is responsible for the bulk of it, of course, but Zhegrova and Esposito have their moments. The latter is actually supposed to be back from his third or fourth consecutive injury, which would be a timely boost – their best displays this season have been when the Italian wonderkid has been on the pitch.
But yeah – opposing FC Basel is tough. If they get seven chances, they’ll score three; most Swiss teams won’t. Therefore, despite being matched in far more games than they’d like to admit, they still win by surprisingly one-sided scorelines. It’s very odd. Anyway, I recognise and respect it so I won’t oppose FC Basel here. Backing goals, however, is a very appealing prospect; one that I cannot deny.
Firstly, as alluded to above, FC Basel do let teams into games against them. They field two defensive midfielders to try and stop teams from getting at their defence because that’s their weakest area but even that only works some of the time. They looked quite good when it was Comert and Pelmard in the middle of defence but something makes me doubt that happening again. Comert was injured, then dropped for ‘not playing well’ (nobody else other than Stocker gets that treatment, which is weird), then has been ‘unwell’, and then suddenly it emerged his contract is up at the end of the season. Because he holds dual citizenship (part Turkish) that’s of particular interest to Super Lig clubs, given that rules in Turkey next season change and clubs have to have more Turkish players on their books. Hmm! Anyway, this has led to him being perpetually benched, meaning that deep-lying playmaker Frei has been fielded at centre-back alongside Pelmard, which isn’t ideal.
Well, Pelmard missed the midweek game through illness, and is a major doubt for this game too. Djiga took his place, and he’s too young, and possibly not good enough – he makes too many errors whenever I watch him play. What’s the alternative though? Cardoso, who barely ever plays? Xhaka, who is another defensive midfielder? He’s a doubt anyway. It’s not good for FC Basel, and even though they won’t be up against Kyei, who is suspended, they will be up against wonderkid Imeri, and containing him has become really tough. Their former golden boy Oberlin also dons the maroon of Servette now too; he’d love to get one over on a club he felt never forgave him for wanting to leave. In short, FC Basel should concede goals in this game.
Their attack won’t be contained by Servette though. Cabral scores goals even when he doesn’t mean to, just as he did against Qarabagh FK midweek. He’s absolutely deadly. With such good support and rapid wide players, FC Basel will create chances, and they’ll score goals too. Earlier in the season, I might have fancied Servette to contain them but not now. Geiger has dropped both Rouiller and Sauthier lately because they’ve not been playing well. Now Diallo (Sauthier’s replacement at right-back) has been struggling too. Furthermore, Clichy missed the win in Bern last weekend, and is a doubt here. There’s no natural replacement left-back so Severin would presumably have to fill in. It’s not ideal for containing one of the most clinical teams in the division, is it?
Despite Kyei’s suspension, their attack looks in good shape though. Schalk is still injured, and that really is a bonus. It should mean that Oberlin leads the line with Imeri and Stevanovic either side of him. Oberlin is by no means a consistent player but he’s fast and annoying to deal with, and he’s looked good since returning to Swiss football – well, before he got injured (shocker, I know!). Stevanovic will play the creative role, Oberlin will run in behind, and Imeri will exploit the space. With Valls and Cognat being fantastic box-to-box midfielders, Servette will be dangerous in attack – and I don’t think FC Basel will be able to keep up.
One big weakness of Servette’s was exposed earlier in the season when they had too many attacking absentees. Essentially, when they don’t have the depth to change games, they’re too easy to predict – and teams regularly beat them because of it. However, with Antunes and Rodelin now waiting in the wings, Servette are no longer easy to anticipate. They really should give FC Basel a tough game here, especially after a heroic win in the capital against the reigning champions, and I’m curious to see what result that leads to.
I still think Servette will get something here, but I just can’t oppose FC Basel whilst they’re scoring goals as easily as they are. Backing over 3 Asian goals makes a lot of sense to me though.
Verdict: Over 3 Asian goals at 49/50.
Sunday’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.
Australian A-League:
Central Coast Mariners vs Sydney FC
Austrian Bundesliga:
Admira Wacker vs Rapid Vienna
Austria Klagenfurt vs Sturm Graz
Austria Vienna vs LASK
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
Antwerp vs Standard de Liege
Union Saint-Gilloise vs KV Mechelen
AA Gent vs Racing Genk
Club Brugge vs Zulte-Waregem
Bulgarian A PFG:
CSKA Sofia vs Cherno More Varna
Beroe vs Levski Sofia
Croatian Prva Liga:
NK Osijek vs Sibenik
Dinamo Zagreb vs Slaven Koprivnica
Czechia Liga 1:
Slavia Prague vs Mlada Boleslav
Baumit Jablonec vs Teplice
Ceske Budejovice vs Sigma Olomouc
Sparta Prague vs Bohemians 1905
Danish DBU Pokalen:
FC Midtjylland vs Brondby
OB vs Randers
English Premier League:
Burnley vs West Ham United
Leicester City vs Newcastle United
Crystal Palace vs Everton
French Ligue 1:
Lille OSC vs Olympique Lyonnais
Angers SCO vs Clermont Foot 38
Metz vs Lorient
Stade Rennais vs OGC Nice
Troyes vs Girondins de Bordeaux
Racing Club Strasbourg vs Olympique de Marseille
Paris Saint-Germain vs AS Monaco
German Bundesliga:
Greuther Furth vs Union Berlin
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen
German Bundesliga 2:
Hamburger SV vs Hansa Rostock
Karlsruher SC vs Heidenheim
Erzgebirge Aue vs Dynamo Dresden
Hungarian Liga 1:
Ujpest vs Paksi SE
Debreceni VSC vs Ferencvaros
Mezokovesd-Zsory vs Varda SE
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
Hapoel Be’er Sheva vs Hapoel Nof HaGalil
Italian Serie A:
Torino vs Bologna
Hellas Verona vs Atalanta Bergamo
SSC Napoli vs Empoli
Sassuolo vs SS Lazio
Internazionale vs Cagliari
Italian Serie B:
Parma vs Perugia
Vicenza vs Como
Reggina vs Alessandria
Dutch Eredivisie:
FC Twente Enschede vs RKC Waalwijk
FC Groningen vs Feyenoord Rotterdam
Vitesse Arnhem vs Heracles Almelo
AFC Ajax Amsterdam vs AZ Alkmaar
NEC Nijmegen vs PSV Eindhoven
Norwegian Eliteserien:
Brann Bergen vs Sarpsborg 08
Haugesund vs Molde FK
Kristiansund vs Valerenga Oslo
Lillestrom vs Sandefjord
Mjondalen vs Bodo/Glimt
Odd vs Stabaek
Rosenborg BK vs Stromsgodset
Tromso vs Viking Stavanger
Portuguese Liga 1:
Moreirense vs Portimonense
Famalicao vs SL Benfica
FC Porto vs Sporting Braga
Portuguese Liga 2:
Farense vs CD Nacional de Madeira
Vilafranquense vs FC Porto II
Academica de Coimbra vs Chaves
Varzim vs Trofense
Romanian Liga 1:
Sepsi vs FCV Farul Constanta
CFR Cluj vs CS Mioveni
Russian Premier League:
Dinamo Moscow vs Zenit St. Petersburg
Akhmat Grozny vs FK Khimki
FK Krasnodar vs FK Nizhnyi Novgorod
Lokomotiv Moscow vs FK Ufa
Spanish Primera Liga:
Villarreal vs Rayo Vallecano de Madrid
CA Osasuna vs Barcelona
Real Betis Balompie vs Real Sociedad
Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid
Swiss Super League:
Young Boys Bern vs FC Sion
Grasshopper Zurich vs Luzern
Servette vs FC Basel
Turkish Super Lig:
Adana Demirspor vs Giresunspor
Yeni Malatyaspor vs Alanyaspor
Besiktas JK vs Kayserispor
Enjoy your free betting tips!