Schaffhausen v Yverdon (Challenge League)

Swiss Football returns on Friday night. After their surprising loss at home to Stade Lausanne-Ouchy last weekend, Schaffhausen bounced back three days later with their victory away at league leaders Aarau and are now firmly in contention for promotion once again. FCS remain at their strongest at the WeFox Arena with the best home statistics in the league, and they will fancy their chances when they host a Yverdon-Sport side that is second only to bottom-club SC Kriens for the worst away team in the division.

Schaffhausen were unbeaten in thirteen league games stretching back to last season at home and had won five in a row before that blip against an SLO side that weren’t expected to win, but are also in improved form generally. Yverdon-Sport can’t really make that claim as they arrive in town having failed to win in their last five, their only two victories on the road coming against SC Kriens.

Yverdon can be stubborn opposition and difficult to break down, but FCS will be high on confidence after becoming the first team since mid-October to beat Aarau. Their fifteen-goal striker Joaquin Ardaiz, who also tops the scoring charts, will also be keen to add to his tally after becoming the first player since 2010 to score four goals in one game, only the eleventh time that this has been achieved since the formation of the league in 2003 and that firepower should be enough to earn the three points at home for a second time against YS this season.

---

Winterthur v Aarau (Challenge League)

These sides have been doing very well as of late, but they were both reminded of the many pitfalls of the Challenge League in defeat last time out and will be keen to keep their season on track with promotion still a realistic possibility, either via the play-off or automatic route.

There would’ve been a sense of frustration for Winterthur as they failed to close the gap at the top with the loss to Stade Lausanne-Ouchy, but they have the opportunity to rectify that back at home against Aarau. The Schutzenwiese has provided much comfort, Winti have won all three games at the venue since their managerial change while still being much less convincing on their travels.

Aarau can be forgiven for finally showing some signs of the pressure that accompanies the top spot in any league, they were surprisingly beaten in a seven-goal thriller as Schaffhausen scored four and took the three points, but were unbeaten in ten matches ahead of that game. While their results at home have been key to their success, the away form has improved greatly, with four wins and sixteen goals scored in their last five games.

Given that these are two teams that play attacking football and boast two players each with more than eight goals this season, including Aarau’s Kevin Spadanuda, who has 12 goals to his name, both teams should score here.

---

FC Zurich v St. Gallen (Super League)

The two form sides in the Super League meet on Saturday evening as FC Zurich, with thirteen points from a possible fifteen, host St. Gallen, with eleven points from fifteen, at the Letzigrund. Neither have lost any of their last five games in league action and are the only two yet to lose in the second-half of the season.

This is nothing unusual for FCZ, they have dropped points only once since late October and took another massive step towards their first league title in thirteen years with their win at Lausanne on Sunday. The city club are now fifteen points ahead of Young Boys in second after the four-in-a-row champions let slip a two-goal lead at home to Luzern. There are now only eleven games to play, making it almost inevitable that FCZ will reign supreme this season.

St. Gallen were held to a draw at home to Sion last weekend, but have been one of the most dangerous attacking teams in the league since the break, scoring the same number of goals as FCZ. They are also potent on the road, failing to score only once away from home, and they did take the lead in this fixture back in December.

Historically, this combination always provides goals and entertainment. Over 2.5 goals has landed in nine of the last ten, Over 3.5 in 7 of the last 10, a total of 39 goals have been scored in that time and both teams have scored in the last seven in a row. With the way these two teams play, I expect that pattern to continue in Zurich.

---

Thun v Stade Lausanne-Ouchy (Challenge League)

Thun were able to a snap five-game winless run last Saturday with their 1-0 victory away to bottom of the table, SC Kriens. The victory was not surprising given the opposition they faced, but it will give a lift to a side that is in danger of being cut adrift from the top half if they fail to take something from their match with Stade Lausanne-Ouchy in Round 26.

SLO have had peaks and troughs this season and they are in the midst of another peak as the form team in the Challenge League. With four wins from five and thirteen points gained, they have been able to mount a surprising promotion bid and come into this round of matches with only one defeat in their last eight

Despite this improvement, the visitors are shakier away from home and have conceded in nine of their twelve away games this season, including in three of their last five. FC Thun have failed to keep a clean sheet in eight of their last nine games at the Stockhorn Arena, but have also put themselves on the scoresheet in the same number of games.

With their leaky defence and ability to always score at home, alongside in-form thirteen-goal striker Brighton Labeau leading the line for SLO, I think Both Teams to Score is the best option in this fixture.

---

Sion v Lugano (Super League)

FC Sion welcome Lugano to the Tourbillon in the late kick-off on Saturday evening. The Valais club remain on the fringes of the top-half after bouncing back from defeat to YB with a win over Lausanne and a creditable draw away at in-form St. Gallen.

Lugano seemed to have come out of their mini-blip in form with wins over Servette and St. Gallen, but they were then beaten far too easily by FC Basel at the Cornaredo. The result probably ends their European hopes, at least the route available to them in the league, and they risk falling out of the top half entirely if they can’t find a consistent run of form soon.

The trouble for the visitors is that, as good as they usually are at home, they aren’t quite so impressive away. Their win at struggling Grasshoppers at the start of the month was their first in their last five games on the road.

This makes good reading for Sion, who have made the Tourbillon something of a fortress this season. They are unbeaten in their last five there, became the first side to take points from FCZ since October and were victorious in this very fixture back in August.

It could be a tight game between these two, but Sion should be able to avoid defeat to maintain their top-half hopes.

---

18+ please gamble responsibly.

---

Back the Four and Five Star Selections as an Accumulator on Betfair ⬇️

*Bet link only appears when accessing from mobile.

---

Haven’t got a Betfair account? You’re in luck…

Sign up to Betfair and get a full refund if your first bet loses. Grab an account through the offer below and place £20 on the 14/1 Swiss Football Best Bets Accumulator. Here are the two possible outcomes: