Keystone
This weekend sees the last round of Super League matches before the winter break. Three teams will be battling it out on different pitches for the unofficial title of fall champions.
17 rounds have been played in the Super League and the starting position is more exciting than it has been for a long time. The top six teams are separated by just five points, the top trio by two. Lugano lead the table one point ahead of Basel, with Servette a further point behind. But who will go into the winter break as leaders?
Basel face a compulsory task
On paper, FC Basel have the easiest task ahead of them. The team, which has regained its strength under Fabio Celestini, will face Grasshoppers at St. Jakob-Park on Saturday. The record champions, who have fallen from grace, have not won in ten games and have only won one of their last eleven visits to Basel – in December of last year. Since then, however, much has changed at the Rheinknie. The return of Xherdan Shaqiri has boosted the league’s best offense with 40 goals, and with only 18 goals conceded, Basel also has the best defense in the Super League. Accordingly, a point against bottom-placed GC would be enough to take the lead from Lugano, at least until Sunday.
The leaders will face Lausanne on the third Sunday of Advent. The Vaud side’s run has recently been slowed somewhat by two draws. Nevertheless, Ludovic Magnin’s team is in extremely good form and has moved up to 4th place following its impressive win against Zurich a week ago. On the other hand, the question arises as to how many reserves of strength the Ticino side still has. Coach Mattia Croci-Torti’s team played their 31st competitive game of the season in the Conference League on Thursday. By comparison, Lausanne have played 20 games.
Joël Magnin’s unblemished home record
Third-placed Servette also face an unpleasant task. Geneva travel to Young Boys, who conceded their sixth defeat in six matches in the Champions League on Wednesday and were knocked out of the top flight early. The Swiss champions are under a lot of pressure and need points if they want to get into the championship race after a disastrous start to the season.
The home strength under Joël Magnin speaks in favor of the Bernese. After the 53-year-old took over on an interim basis last season, YB won five out of six home games in the Super League. This season, the team has an unblemished home record (4 games/4 wins) following the promotion of the French-speaking Swiss.
In the other games of the 18th round, Winterthur and Luzern and Yverdon and Sion will meet on Saturday. On Sunday, Zurich and St. Gallen will face off at the Letzigrund. Ex-grasshopper Steven Zuber is not yet in the FCZ squad following his signing. The 56-time international will only join the team after the winter break.
