Neuchatel Xamax v Winterthur (Challenge League)
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Friday 18th March – 6:30PM KO
Neuchatel Xamax play host to Winterthur at the Stade de la Maladiere on Friday evening to kick off our Swiss Football weekend with these two sides separated by four positions and nine points. The visitors are in the thick of the title and promotion race while Xamax are down in seventh.
It hasn’t been a particularly bad season for Xamax, but it has been defined by inconsistency. They have made a habit of going unbeaten for several games before losing a couple and repeating the formula over again and it means that while Xamax are well within reach of a top-half finish, any realistic ambition of the play-off spot is now gone.
Winterthur provided a statement win last weekend against Aarau as they made it four consecutive home wins and closed the gap at the top to two points. Winti have found it more difficult away from home recently, losing in their last two at SLO and Schaffhausen.
This fixture is the perfect recipe for goals. Xamax always find the net at home, 10/13 of their games have had Over 2.5 goals and their last six in a row have had goals at both ends. Winterthur have had twenty-three goals in their last five away matches and Both Teams to Score in all but three away matches this season. The two previous meetings this season also had both teams scoring, finishing 1-1 and 2-1.
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Prediction: Both Teams to Score, 1.65 on Betfair (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Aarau v Yverdon-Sport (Challenge League)
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Saturday 19th March – 5:00PM KO
After two high-scoring defeats, Aarau will be keen to bounce back as they return to Brugglifeld against Yverdon on Saturday evening.
FCA will have been frustrated by letting a valuable point slip late at promotion rivals Winterthur last week, but remain in control by two points. Having lost only one of their last seven matches at home, they will be confident of getting over this mini-blip against a Yverdon side that are second only to SC Kriens for worst away form in the league.
It was the same old story for YS on their last outing, a 3-1 defeat in Schaffhausen, and this next fixture will be a daunting prospect in northern Switzerland. They haven’t won any of their last six in the league, losing three games in a row away from home and all to the other three sides in the top four alongside Aarau. Their only two away wins this season were against Kriens and they lost out 1-0 against Aarau in November.
The home side haven’t been at their best in their last two games against promotion rivals, but this represents an easier task and should allow the leaders to get back to winning ways.
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Prediction: Aarau to Win, 1.57 on Betfair (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
SC Kriens v Schaffhausen (Challenge League)
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Saturday 19th March – 5:00PM KO
It was a valiant effort from SC Kriens in their 3-2 defeat to Vaduz on Saturday. They led twice in the match in the principality and were eight minutes from their first victory since Halloween only to concede twice to lose a fourteenth consecutive game. It is a matter of time before relegation is confirmed but ending this poor run would’ve at least restored some pride.
Schaffhausen maintained their promotion push last weekend with a 3-1 success over Yverdon-Sport at the WeFox Arena. Four wins from the last five matches has them up in fourth position, just three points behind the play-off spot and five points from the automatic promotion place. They have picked up more points than any other side in the league in the last five matches too and are a whopping twenty-six points ahead of their opposition.
It was a brave effort from Kriens in their last match, but they simply concede too many goals (67 and counting) to be able to end their winless run. Schaffhausen also came out victorious in their last away match against Aarau and have the leading scorer in the league, Joaquin Ardaiz, at their disposal, so they really shouldn’t have a problem picking up another important three points at Kleinfeld.
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Prediction: Schaffhausen to Win, 1.6 on Betfair (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
St. Gallen v Luzern (Super League)
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Saturday 19th March – 5:00PM KO
Just four wins in eighteen games to begin the season is the sort of form that has made many a club around the world make changes in a bid to change their fortunes. In most cases, it is the manager who is relieved of his duties, but not when it comes to FC St. Gallen. Instead, they are now being rewarded for their patience and a rejuvenated FCSG are firing on all cylinders under Peter Zeidler as the form team in Switzerland.
The biggest vindication for the club came last weekend, as they made the trip to an FC Zurich side that lead the table and hadn’t lost a match since September 26th. The visitors were ahead after just seven minutes and blew FCZ away, winning 3-0 and making it nine games unbeaten in the process. A top-half finish is well within reach now as Luzern make the trip to kybunpark this weekend.
Luzern are much improved too, they’ve lost only one of their last five matches, and pulled themselves closer to safety with their victory over Grasshoppers in their last match. They often cause problems on their travels to this part of Switzerland, having only lost two of their last eleven matches there.
St. Gallen are still prone defensively, as shown by their 1-1 home draw with Sion two weeks ago, and have conceded in all but one of their home matches this season. Luzern have also scored in all but one of their away matches, and Both Teams have scored in all but one too, including their last five in a row. For those reasons, I believe it is better to back goals here.
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Prediction: Both Teams to Score, 1.57 on Betfair (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Young Boys v FC Zurich (Super League)
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Saturday 19th March – 7:30PM KO
After their first defeat in just under six months, a trip to Bern on Saturday to face reigning champions Young Boys will be a real acid test for FCZ. They still maintain a healthy lead of ten points over FC Basel but there will be a keen eye on how the team respond to that rare setback, and if there is any hint that their seemingly unstoppable title charge may hit a snag in the final weeks of the season.
YB will have been frustrated themselves at the weekend, they were held to a draw at bottom-club Lausanne after a late equaliser from the penalty spot. That sort of result, against a side that had lost nine matches in a row, has summed up their season and there will be an expectation on them to cut the gap down to eleven points when they welcome FCZ to the capital.
This fixture has been one that YB have dominated over the years, they have won the previous eleven at the Wankdorf and were 4-0 winners in early September against Zurich. Since that match though, YB have scored and conceded in all but one game at home while FCZ have also scored in every away match. These sides have the firepower, they share three players each in the top ten scorers, and it should make for an entertaining clash with goals at both ends.
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Prediction: Both Teams to Score, 1.5 on Betfair (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
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