St. Gallen take on the visitors Basel in the round 1 match of Swiss Super League. The match will be played on Saturday, July 26th at Kybunpark (St. Gallen).
St. Gallen hope to improve. Espen can hardly be considered a top-tier club even by Swiss standards. However, they've come close to glory several times. In 2020, they finished second in the Super League and later reached the Swiss Cup final twice — only to fall short both times. Last season, they struggled for consistency and ended up eighth with 52 points, narrowly missing out on seventh place to Zürich by just one point. Head coach Enrico Maassen, who joined from Augsburg last summer, has kept his job despite the underwhelming campaign. The board seems willing to give him another shot, but expectations are rising. Despite limited investment in the squad, the minimum goal will be a return to the top half — and ideally, a push for a European spot.
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Basel were the dominant force in Swiss football in the early 2000s, lifting 12 league titles between 2002 and 2017. But a steep decline followed, with only a single Swiss Cup to show for their efforts in recent years. That changed last season when they capitalized on Young Boys' slip and surged to a domestic double. However, the architect of that success, Fabio Celestini, left the club in the summer. His replacement, Ludovic Magnin, a former Swiss international who guided Lausanne-Sport to a top-five finish last year, now faces the task of building on that momentum. Basel have made modest changes to the squad, prioritizing stability over flashy transfers. Early preseason signs suggest they’ll remain one of the title favorites.
Rotblau won three meetings in a row, but the last two ended in draws — even as Basel marched toward the title. The reigning champions remain the stronger side and should prove it by starting the new season with an away victory.
Prediction for the match: Basel to win.
