Servette take on the visitors Utrecht in the first leg of UEFA Europa League Qualifications semifinals. The match will be played on Thursday, August 7th at Stade de Genève (Geneva).
Servette have recently returned to truly competitive form. The Garnets won their 17th league title in 1999 — at the time, no one could have predicted it would remain their last for so long. Since then, they haven’t reclaimed top spot, but at least after a long and difficult decline, they’ve re-established themselves among the Swiss elite. In 2023, they finished as runners-up in the Super League. Then came the 2024 Cup — their first major trophy in over two decades. They couldn’t repeat that success this past spring, but once again secured 2nd place in the domestic league. That was enough to send René Weiler’s side into the Champions League qualification rounds, despite a shaky start to the current league campaign. Unfortunately, their European run was short-lived — despite beating Viktoria Plzen 1-0 in the Czech Republic and scoring first in the home leg, they collapsed and conceded three unanswered goals.
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Utrecht were once a force in the mid-20th century, when one of their predecessor clubs won their only national title. Since then, they’ve lifted the Dutch Cup just three times — in 1985 and back-to-back in 2003 and 2004. In Eredivisie, they rarely made headlines in recent years. Last season, however, they had a real chance of finishing in the top three. But Feyenoord rallied late, bringing in Robin van Persie as head coach, and eventually pushed Utrecht down to 4th place. Still, this was enough to qualify Ron Jans’ men for the Europa League. And they started strong — comfortably dispatching the experienced Sheriff side. Utrecht earned a 3-1 win in Tiraspol and followed it up with a dominant 4-1 victory at home. The teams met in a friendly in December 2022. Servette secured a narrow win over the Dutch visitors in that match.
The visitors currently look more solid overall. We recommend backing Utrecht to win with a draw no bet (0 handicap) in Geneva. And given the attacking potential of both sides, expect goals — over 2.5 total goals is a solid option.
Prediction for the match: Over 2.5 scored goals.
