Neuchatel Xamax missed another chance to close the gap on Vaduz at the bottom as they let the principality club off the hook after their defeat at Schaffhausen had opened the door for the Xamaxians on their visit to Bern in midweek. A 1-0 loss to Thun means that the gap remains five points and as much as Xamax are harder to beat under Jeff Saibene, that loss to Thun being only their second in nine matches, they’ve also only won once in that time. Second only to Schaffhausen for the title of the lowest-scoring side in the league, Xamax will be apprehensive about their next opponents on Friday evening.

Lausanne had been struggling for form and goals before the winter break. They’d scored just eight goals in their nine games prior to the World Cup and had won just two of those games. For a side that was expected to claim an instant return to the top tier with ease, this has been a little bit of a rocky road under Ludovic Magnin’s stewardship. Away form has also been a difficult challenge for LS, winning just twice and scoring just four in nine away matches before the league resumed. Happily, they have returned with a bang, sending four past Stade Lausanne-Ouchy away from home before a comfortable 4-1 victory over Aarau at the Tulliere last weekend. It seems to be clicking for Lausanne and with only four points between themselves and FC Wil at the top, their target is still well within range.

Xamax are a more difficult proposition at home, but with LS finally playing like they’re capable of, I think they will be able to outscore their opponents in Neuchatel. LS have won in the previous two meetings this season, including a 1-0 victory back in August. I would take Lausanne draw no bet in this one.

Aarau were given a reality check last weekend on just how far they have to come if they wish to gain promotion this season. A 4-1 loss away to Lausanne followed their victory over Thun in the previous weekend and it keeps the Brugglifeld club on an inconsistent run of form that looks to prevent them from mounting any serious challenge this season. There are still reasons to be positive, especially with Shkelqim Vladi back from injury and the side scoring plenty of goals, but there is a feeling that they really must take the three points against Yverdon-Sport on Friday night to keep themselves in with a chance of making a late dash for those promotion places before May.

Yverdon-Sport, alongside FC Wil, have been the surprise package of the season in the Challenge League. A team that spent more or less all of the 21/22 campaign near the bottom of the table is now joint-top of the second tier and aiming for a return to the Super League for the first time since 2005. A narrow 1-0 victory at home over Stade Lausanne-Ouchy made it three victories in a row for Marco Schailibaum and eight wins from their last ten games and just two defeats. Brugglifeld was the venue for one of those losses and it is another test for Yverdon if they can get over this hurdle and take another step towards promotion.

Yverdon have the best away record in the league but curiously have also conceded the most goals on the road. Aarau are typically inconsistent on their own patch but know their way to goal nonetheless. Both teams average close to two goals per game while Yverdon ship over two goals per away game. For those reasons, I think there will be goals here.