Basel vs Lugano Prediction: Visitors may have one eye on CL qualifier

FC Basel's campaign got off to a losing start last Sunday as they were beaten 3-2 at Lausanne on the opening weekend of the 2024/25 Swiss Super League. However, FCB have the chance to make amends in front of their fans this Saturday (19:30) as they host last season's runners-up Lugano, who beat Grasshoppers 2-1 at home before falling to a 4-3 defeat to Fenerbahce in the first leg of their Champions League qualifier on Tuesday.

Read below for my Basel vs Lugano prediction and all the latest team news ahead of Saturday's fixture at St Jakob-Park.

Football Odds

Team News

Basel have made a statement signing since last weekend's defeat, bringing in 21-year-old Ivorian Benie Traore from Sheffield United for a seven-figure fee.

Traore endured a difficult half-season in the Premier League before being loaned out to French side Nantes, where he also failed to score in 14 Ligue 1 appearances.

But Traore had previously made a big impression for FC Hacken in Sweden and should be ready to make his debut for Basel on Saturday after playing the first 45 minutes of Sheffield United's 2-1 defeat to York City on July 13.

He may have to wait for his first start, however, and could be joined on the bench by Arnau Comas and Romeo Beney, who were both substituted at half-time last weekend.

Nicolas Vouilloz and Kevin Ruegg came on for the duo and are in line to begin the game on Saturday.

Lugano made three changes to their starting XI in midweek, with Mattia Zanotti, Antonios Papadopoulos and Anto Grgic coming in for Lukas Mai, Zachary Brault-Guillard and Mohamed Belhadj who all started their side's opening-round win against Grasshoppers.

Head coach Mattia Croci-Tort could be tempted into further changes this weekend with Lugano's crucial return fixture against Fenerbahce in Istanbul taking place on Tuesday.

Basel vs Lugano Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main Basel vs Lugano page on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this match.

The hosts are 13/10 to claim their first victory of the season on Saturday, giving them an implied win probability of 43.5%, while Lugano's odds are 13/8 (38.1%).

The draw is available at 12/5, both teams to score at 1/2, and over 2.5 total goals at 4/7.

First team to score - Basel @ 9/10

It remains to be seen just how strong a starting XI Croci-Tort puts out on Saturday, but there's a decent chance he will have one eye on Tuesday's Champions League qualifier considering the importance of winning in Turkey, and how early in the season it is in the Swiss Super League.

Therefore, I think it's worth considering backing Basel to score first at St Jakob-Park. They started slowly in Lausanne last weekend, going 2-0 down inside 22 minutes, but they did manage to score twice at Stade de la Tuiliere, including once in the first half.

FCB should be raring to go in front of their fans on Saturday, especially against a side potentially suffering from a European hangover, and with a crucial game on the horizon.

This may be a match where Lugano start sluggishly and look to the bench for inspiration in the second half.

Basel to win & both teams to score @ 11/4

The Swiss Super League is usually pretty good for the 'both teams to score' market, and that was evident in last week's opening fixtures as both teams struck in four of the six games played.

FCB and Lugano met four times last season, three times in the league and once in the Swiss Cup, and BTTS - Yes landed in half of those matches including the most recent one at St Jakob-Park, a 2-2 draw on February 28 which saw Lugano advance to the semi-finals on penalties.

We could see a few goals again this weekend, but it may be worth backing the hosts to emerge victorious from this one considering what's still at stake for Lugano in the Champions League qualifiers.

I might be doing Lugano a disservice here, but at the price listed, Basel to win and both teams to score takes my fancy as the 20-time league champions look to get off the mark this season.

Bringing in someone like Traore should certainly give them a big boost, and he could be vital in the second half if he doesn't get the nod to start.

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