Grasshopper Zurich vs Young Boys Bern
KO: (UK time)
If Young Boys Bern win this fixture, then they’ve won the title with weeks to spare. Following the massacre of Servette at the weekend, I don’t think anyone has any doubts that they’re going to win it anyway, not that there should have been – the points gap was huge before that game.
What I found interesting about the Servette mauling is that although Servette were a car crash defensively, they actually did ok offensively. They ended up with a similar xG to their hosts, actually. It just goes to show what I’ve said about Young Boys Bern all along – they may be winning some matches handsomely, but their all-round displays need a lot of work. They generally win matches in the Super League by virtue of having the best strikers, not by playing the best football, and certainly not by dominating.
For this contest, the visitors find themselves without Rieder, who is their wonderkid creator. Fortunately, it’s not an issue because Imeri is ready to step in, who excelled against his former club at the weekend, and should play alongside Ugrinic and Fassnacht, which is as lethal a midfield combination as you’ll find in the Super League. They’ll make a plethora of things happen at will, and with Nsame now back from suspension, Young Boys Bern have a very fresh striker that is hungry for goals.
Grasshopper Zurich aren’t a hard team to score against. Therefore, given the motivation of the capital club, I have to believe that the league leaders should be able to bag at least two goals here, if not more. I don’t trust them defensively, though. They give too many chances away in general, and I have to believe that they’ll rest veteran defender Lustenberger given the fixture congestion and his injury prone nature. Keep in mind that Ruegg is still recovering from injury so they’re not likely to be able to rotate their right-back unless outcast Maceiras gets a rare outing, although backup left-back Benito is back in the squad. In short, Grasshopper Zurich should get their chances here.
I was a tad dubious about Grasshopper Zurich’s attack last time out because Schettine and Momoh being out, not to mention Shabani’s suspension, meant that it was all on Dadashov to score goals, and Kawabe to create. As it transpired, the 4-3-3 they deployed worked rather well. Herc and Pusic looked quite fresh, and they started the game with a great intensity. If they can do that here, then they’ve got a chance of picking up the win that they need to keep their European hopes alive.
I wouldn’t place much stock in those hopes, though. The more games go by, the more players Contini loses. This time it’s defensive midfielder Ndenge that is injured, and there’s no real replacement for him. Their back line won’t get much protection here, and keep in mind that even when they deploy a 4-3-3, they still use wing-backs in full-back positions so they can be caught out.
My big concern with the home team (as far as them winning goes) is that they don’t control games for very long. They always get rattled in the end; it almost happened against ten men last time out too. If they do that against Young Boys Bern then they could easily end up conceding five. I think they’ll give Young Boys Bern a decent game, although I can’t see beyond an away win.
For me, this should be a goal-filled affair.
Verdict: Over 3 Asian goals at 19/20.