Basel vs Kobenhavn Prediction: Hosts to take the advantage

The Uefa Champions League qualification process has reached the play-off round, with a place in the league phase at stake. Basel welcome Kobenhavn to St. Jakob-Park for the first leg of their tie on Wednesday (20:00 BST, TNT Sports 2).

The hosts are making their first appearance in qualifying, while the visitors had to get past Drita and Malmo to reach this stage. Read on to find my Basel vs Kobenhavn predictions, accompanied by the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

Basel come into Wednesday’s contest without defenders Finn van Breemen and Kevin Ruegg, owing to meniscus and muscle problems respectively.

Veteran attacker Xherdan Shaqiri will be brimming with confidence after scoring and providing an assist at the weekend and is expected to shoulder much of the responsibility in the attacking third.

Summer acquisitions Philip Otele and Metinho look set to start on the left wing and midfield respectively.

Kobenhavn are without the services of wide man Elias Achour (hamstring) and midfielder Thomas Delaney (unknown), with both players ruled out until next month due to their respective injuries.

There are also question marks surrounding the availability of teenage duo Oliver Hojer (surgery for an undisclosed issue) and Jonathan Moalem (hip), who face a race against time to be fit for the trip to Switzerland.

Mohamed Elyounoussi will be hoping to be an influential figure for the Danish outfit having already contributed one goal and three assists in four appearances in qualifying.

Basel vs Kobenhavn Odds

Basel have won three of their last four matches and they are 13/10 to win on home soil, which has an implied probability of 43.5%.

Kobenhavn drew their last away trip in Europe 0-0 at Malmo and the stalemate is on offer at 23/10 this time around. The visitors are 21/10 to come away with an impressive away victory, and they have won their previous two matches in all competitions.

There have been goals at both ends in each of Basel's past 10 fixtures and BTTS is available at 4/5 for Wednesday.

Basel to win @ 13/10

Basel have won three of their last four matches in all competitions and for that reason I think they are good value to take the lead in this play-off tie. Both clubs have pedigree in reaching the main draw of the Champions League so this is expected to be a very competitive affair with a place in the league phase at stake.

Kobenhavn have the momentum of getting through the two previous qualifying rounds, but it's clear that their success has come from their home legs. They were held to a 0-0 draw at Malmo, while they scraped a 1-0 win against Drita.

Basel are a tougher opponent on paper and they will need to be at their best to come away with a positive result in Switzerland. I don't think that will be the case, though, given the hosts' recent form.

I am expecting a tight match given the quality among both sides but Basel should have enough to edge through this first leg, which could leave them a tough task in Copenhagen next week.

Today's Football Fixtures

Both teams to score @ 4/5

With this likely to be a fascinating tussle I think there is a good chance we will see both teams find the back of the net due to the options they both have in attack. Basel have an experienced veteran in Shaqiri who has scored goals at the highest level on both a domestic and international level, while Kobenhavn have the likes of Elyounoussi and Andreas Cornelius who are reliable in front of goal.

BTTS has been a successful bet in each of the hosts' past 10 matches, too, so I think we will see this trend continue on Wednesday evening. There have also been goals at both ends in two of the visitors' previous three games heading into this clash.

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