FC Basel host FC St. Gallen on Sunday, 20 September (16:30 local time), in the ninth round of the Super League at St. Jakob-Park. Manager Fabio Celestini's side aims to build on their convincing 4-2 away win at FC Luzern and solidify their fourth-place position in the league.
Basel have collected 13 points from their first eight matches, sitting nine points behind leaders Lugano. Their recent form shows two wins, one draw, and two losses from the last five games. With a look at the upcoming fixtures, a home victory against the Eastern Swiss side is important.
Opponent in Crisis
FC St. Gallen travel to Basel on a run of five consecutive defeats. Peter Zeidler's team recently lost 4-1 at Lugano and 3-0 at home to Sion. For Basel, this is an opportunity to avenge the last meeting between the sides, a 3-0 defeat in St. Gallen back in March.
Probable Lineup
Celestini is likely to stick largely with the lineup that impressed in Luzern. Goalkeeper Marwin Salvi is protected by a back four of Keisuke Tsunemoto, Flavius Daniliuc, Adrian Victory, and Kay Rüegg. Jonathan Harder and Metinho operated in midfield last time out, with the attack featuring Kazeem Olaigbe, Xherdan Shaqiri, and Philip Otele supplying striker Žan Celar. Celar is the team's current top scorer with five goals in eight appearances.
A win would bring Basel closer to the top group and provide momentum ahead of the next away match on the fixtures list. The team faces an opponent on Sunday who is themselves in desperate need of points.
