Young Boys v FC Zurich

It is fitting that the title defence of der Stadtclub begins at the home of the previous champions on Saturday evening. After four seasons of being the untouchable kings of Swiss football, YB suffered a pretty stark fall from grace as they ended the 21/22 season down in third, securing European football only in the final weeks of the season and finishing some sixteen points adrift of FCZ.

YB acted quickly to rectify the issues that had contributed to their disappointing finish. New manager Raphael Wicky, former coach of FC Basel, was appointed just eleven days after the final ball was kicked last season. They also moved efficiently in the transfer market, bringing in the exciting Filip Ugrinic from Luzern, Donat Rrudhani from Aarau and Cedric Itten, scorer of 19 goals in the 19/20 season for St. Gallen, from Scottish club Rangers.

There has also been a period of transition for the champions. FCZ lost their manager, top scorer and also their most influential player in the transfer window. Former Austria coach Franco Foda is the new man at the helm, but there has been little movement of note in terms of proven replacements.

This game has a much different outlook than last season. YB have recruited well and can take advantage of an FCZ side that looks set to be a one-season wonder after those key departures. The Zurich club also have a dismal record at this venue having recorded only one win in their last twelve, losing the other eleven matches.

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Winterthur v FC Basel

A match with many subplots. FC Winterthur are back in the Super League after 36 years and they will mark their return with a home match against an FC Basel side that poached the man to lead Winti back to this level, Alex Frei, and also five-goal winger Sayfallah Ltaief. Oh, and the last time these two met? Winterthur won 6-2 at St. Jakob-Park in the SwIss Cup in early 2021!

Bruno Berner, who led SC Kriens to the Challenge League in 2018, is the replacement for Alex Frei at the Schutzenwiese. He has managed to keep much of the title-winning squad together, although there have been the notable departures of goalkeeper Raphael Spiegel and midfielder Roberto Alves. Florian Kamberi adds to the firepower alongside Roman Buess in the Winti frontline.

FCB’s second-place finish in 21/22 wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good enough either. Club president David Degen is determined to return Basel back to the top of Swiss football and the club has strengthened again this summer. There is a mix of experience and youth among the several new signings, including goalkeeper Marwin Hitz, Jean Kevin-Augustin and Zeki Amdouni.

This game has all the potential of being a cracker in a venue that is one of the most intimate and atmospheric in Switzerland. Winti can hurt an FCB side that will take time to integrate their new players, but FCB also have the quality to score goals. I think we’ll see plenty of action here.

Servette v St Gallen

When the most notable aspect of your club’s pre-season is a public apology for failing to sell beer at a friendly against Premier League side West Ham… well, it is safe to say that not much else of note has happened for Servette. They have made only one significant signing, Patrick Pflucke from Roda, and also lost the experience of Vincent Sasso and Anthony Sauthier to Boavista and Yverdon-Sport respectively. There is a real concern from the fans that the team has become stagnant after fourth and third place finishes prior to their final position of sixth last season.

Much was said about St. Gallen in 21/22, they were in unacceptably poor form for the first half of 21/22 and didn’t look like a team capable of finishing in the top-half or of reaching a Swiss Cup final. In the end, they did both. There were no kneejerk reactions at kybunpark, Peter Zeidler kept his job and recruited wisely in January to turn his side into one of the most exciting in the league.

FCSG are in a much better place in the summer of 2022 than they were last year. They have added quality to the squad that performed so well in the second half of last season and they can pick up where they left off at the beginning of this one. SFC have won only one of their last twelve at home against FCSG too.

Lugano v Sion

It was a season to remember for FC Lugano as they claimed a fourth-place finish and also their first Swiss Cup triumph since 1993. The cup win ensures the Ticino club will play in the UEFA Europa Conference League despite narrowly missing out to Young Boys in the race for the final European spot.

40-year-old Mattia Croci-Torti is building a solid team at the Cornaredo. The purchase of Ousmane Doumbia from Zurich, perhaps the MVP of the season, is a shrewd piece of business. The club also signed 22-year-old defender Lars Lukas Mai from Bayern.

FC Sion had an unremarkable season themselves, they failed to really excite at any point of the campaign and only stayed out of the relegation trouble by a single point. Goalkeeper Heinz Linder from Basel is a great signing for the club, but they have also lost several players and look like they’ll do well to avoid the scrap at the bottom this time around.

Lugano are strong at home, a defensively sound team that has lacked the attack to really punish the opposition. In my opinion, that has now changed. It could be another strong season for a team that feels more complete than it has in many years and I expect them to start off with victory on Sunday.

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