Servette v Sion

The Derby du Rhone between Servette and Sion is a contest that needs no extra spice, but there will be a different and intense flavour to the affair on Sunday in Geneva as Servette celebrate their 132nd birthday on the same day. The bragging rights on your birthday versus spoiling the big day of your rivals? It will certainly be one of the most unique derby matches in recent history.

When you lose two-nil away from home and end the match with nine men, there aren’t usually many positives that can be taken. Servette will feel a sense of injustice though from a game that they were matching FC Basel in before some dubious decisions and two late goals left them empty-handed at St. Jakob-Park. SFC had been in good form prior to that and will aim to get their push for the top-half back on track against their rivals.

Sion had no such excuses as they were comfortably beaten at home by Lugano. One win in their last seven, which came against Lausanne, is form reminiscent of last season. While they are eight points clear of relegation, the improvement of Luzern in the play-off spot will give much cause for concern too.

SFC are in a much better place currently but these games rarely follow the form book, they are also missing two defenders in Diallo and Clichy after those red cards against Basel and have kept only two clean sheets in their last twenty-eight home games. Sion haven’t lost in Geneva since SFC returned to the league and have scored in all but two of their away games while only keeping one clean sheet. The last six in a row between these two have had both teams scoring and I predict the same this weekend.

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Lugano v Lausanne

Lugano ensured they bounced back from their defeat against Basel as they ran out winners at the Tourbillon against Sion last Saturday. The resounding 3-0 scoreline moves Lugano just three points behind Young Boys in the race for the final European spot in what has been a pretty successful season for the club so far.

It was the team above them, Young Boys, that were the unlikely source of the first points earned by Lausanne in nine matches. LS had been beaten in all nine dating back to December 11th and would’ve expected more misery going head-to-head with the Swiss champions who had won 6-1 at the Tulliere earlier in the season. Instead, the home side led, fell behind and then eventually tied the game up with a last-gasp penalty to take a point.

Lugano remain very strong and hard to beat at the Cornaredo this season. Of the four games that they have lost at the stadium this season, three of them came against the current top three while the other was against a St. Gallen side in the midst of an excellent run as the form team in the country. 

Last weekend was a tough ask for Lausanne but this trip to Ticino may well be a more daunting task. There is no doubt it was better against YB, but the visitors simply lack the quality to make that a habit or take anything from this difficult venue. The home side have also been victorious in the last two against LS, a pair of 2-0 victories in early October and November, and should continue their European quest with the three points here.

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Grasshoppers v Basel

It is a meeting between the two most successful sides in Swiss football history as twenty-seven times winners Grasshoppers welcome twenty-times winners FC Basel to the Letzigrund in Zurich, although it isn’t often over the decades that these two have met while at opposite ends of the league table.

Despite the lofty status of being the most successful side in the country, Grasshopper’s crown has slipped in recent years. They haven’t won a title since 2003 and consolidation in the Super League is now their aim after returning from a two-year spell in the Challenge League, their first for seventy years. A strong first half of the season had them aspiring for a top-half finish but one win in their last ten has them worrying about relegation once again.

FC Basel are chasing their first title triumph since 2017 and closed the gap to Zurich at the top to twelve points last weekend. It still seems fanciful to suggest they will claw their rivals back, but they will be watching events in Bern closely on Saturday to see if the opportunity presents itself to further reduce the arrears. 

Basel did have a European excursion in midweek, battling hard against Marseille before ultimately losing out to the French giants but they continue to display an improved level of performance under Spanish coach Guillermo Abascal. GC have lost their last four in a row and seem short of all confidence while FCB produced a professional performance at Lugano in their last away fixture and kept a clean sheet too. They should have enough to make it five wins in a row against GC at the Letzi.

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