Aiming to end a disappointing campaign on a positive note, fallen giants Basel will welcome Yverdon Sport to St Jakob Park for a Swiss Super League clash on Tuesday night.
RotBlau have failed to reach the standards set by themselves over the past 15 years this season, whilst Yverdon have enjoyed a steady return to this level following promotion.
Match preview
Basel's good form at the conclusion of a troublesome season continued on Saturday, when RotBlau secured a one-goal victory at Grasshopper Zurich, extending the visitors' unbeaten run in the Super League to seven matches, dating back to a 2-0 success over Lausanne Sport on April 6.
For a third straight game, Basel managed to keep a clean sheet to boost Marwin Hitz's statistics in goal, with midfielder Fabian Frei netting a dramatic 94th minute equaliser to ensure that RotBlau were able to secure their 13th win of the league campaign from 37 attempts.
That record is rarely associated with a side who have dominated Swiss football for a large portion of the 21st century, with Fabio Celestini's enduring a woeful campaign in 2023-24, sitting eighth overall in the top-flight standings, collecting just 48 points from 37 matches.
Basel fished in a smaller pool of talent during last summer's transfer window, but the acquisition of Thierno Barry from the Belgian second division was a shrewd one, with the Frenchman bagging 12 goals during his first campaign in Switzerland, including a strike in the Europa Conference League.
Stepping up to the top table of Swiss football for the first time in over a decade, Yverdon Sport have enjoyed a productive return to this level, meaning that they are at no risk of an immediate relegation back to the second division ahead of their final match on Tuesday night.
Suffering back-to-back defeats this month for the first time since the February, Yverdon responded admirably with a 3-1 victory over Luzern on Saturday afternoon, when Marley Ake, Mauro Rodrigues and Kevin Omoruyi all managed to breach the net of Pascal Loretz.
Finding the goal for the fourth time in as many matches following the post-season split, 23-year-old Omoruyi has shone during his first season outside of Spanish football, scoring 14 times across 36 competitive appearances for Yverdon this season.
Yverdon will be drawing confidence from their result in the reverse fixture back in September, when goals from Varol Tasar, Lizeiro and Aymen Mahious secured a win from a dramatic five-goal thriller with Basel.
Team News
Basel remain without the services of centre-back Adrian Leon Barisic, who suffered a thigh injury during the victory over Lausanne earlier this month.
The hosts will also be unable to call upon the talents of Nicolas Vouilloz, with the 23-year-old picking up a knee issue as the campaign draws to a close.
Aiming to help their side towards a fourth straight clean sheet, Finn van Breemen, Jonas Adjetey and Arnau Comas will start as the defensive trio once again.
After helping Yverdon to promotion last term, Brazilian Adniellyson Silva has been on the sidelines for the entire 2023-24 term due to a cruciate ligament injury.
Luzern loanee Tasar has also fallen victim to a similar problem, with the German last featuring during his side's defeat to Basel back in February.
Basel possible starting lineup:
Hitz; Comas, Adjetey, Van Breemen; Ruegg, Kacuri, Frei, Kade; Barry, Kololli, Ajeti
Yverdon Sport possible starting lineup:
Bernardoni; Gunnarsson, Marques, Kamenovic; Sauthier, Cespedes, Lizeiro, Le Pogam; Rodrigues, Ake, Omoruyi
We say: Basel 2-0 Yverdon Sport
Despite their stuttering performance across the course of the season, Basel's recent record suggests that they should be good enough for a win on Tuesday.
Yverdon have lost 14 of their 18 away Super League matches this term, and we are expecting another tough day on the road for the visitors in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
