Sports Mole previews Saturday’s Swiss Super League clash between Grasshopper Zurich and Basel, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Grasshopper Zurich and Basel are winless after two Swiss Super League games heading into gameweek three’s match-up at Letzigrund on Saturday.
Grasshoppers bounced back from their opening day loss to pick up a point in the previous week but their opponents could not avoid consecutive losses heading into round three.
Match preview
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Grasshoppers have had disappointing weekends to remember for different reasons, as they have dropped a point to lose in gameweek one and drew from a winning position last time out.
Marco Schallibaum‘s team led 1-0 against Lugano only to concede twice in the final half-hour to lose 2-1, with the Bianconeri notching the latter in the game’s closing minutes, while they overturned a 1-0 deficit against Luzern only to let in an 85th-minute leveller in a 2-2 tie.
The upshot of both results mean the Zurich-based club are ninth in the standings after two matches, three places off cellar-dwelling Young Boys heading into the third round.
While the Hoppers have had no trouble scoring, underlined by three strikes in two matches, letting in four has undermined their start to the 2024-25 campaign.
They hope to find the right balance on Saturday, keen to be third-time lucky after two winless matches.
As for their opponents, a winless start has been compounded by not picking up points in games one and two, leaving Fabio Celestini‘s team third-bottom after losing both matches.
FCB left themselves with too much to do in their 3-2 league-opening loss to Lausanne-Sport and could not hold on for a 1-1 draw in their first home match against Lugano as they conceded a 69th-minute strike in the 2-1 defeat.
Scoring three goals have been undermined by the team leaking five at the other end, leaving them struggling at the competition’s early stage.
It remains to be seen if Celestini’s men turn the tide in round three, with maximum points potentially taking them to mid-table if other results go their way.
Grasshopper Zurich Swiss Super League form:
Basel Swiss Super League form:
Team News
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Michael Kempter is expected to miss the whole season after his severe knee injury, while there is no timescale on Joshua Laws‘ return after knee surgery.
The Hoppers have more positive news regarding Dirk Abels, whose return from a hip injury is expected sometime this month.
Basel’s Gabriel Sigua‘s muscle injury should keep him out for a few more weeks, but Mohamed Drager‘s return from his issue is unknown.
Having netted twice in the league-opening loss at Lausanne, Thierno Barry was absent in round two for an undisclosed issue, and the forward is touch-and-go for Saturday.
Grasshopper Zurich possible starting lineup:
Hammel; Paskotsi, Tobers, Decarli, Matam; Abrashi, Seko; Mabil, Morandi, Schurpf; Muci
Basel possible starting lineup:
Hitz; Barisic, Adjetey, Comas; Ruegg, Avdullahu, Leroy, Schmid; Kade, Ajeti, Traore
We say: Grasshopper Zurich 1-1 Basel
Grasshoppers have won three of the last four meetings with Basel, although FCB claimed a 1-0 win over the Hoppers in the recent encounter in May. With neither side in full flow after two games, the spoils could be shared in Saturday’s league match.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.