Will the Espen follow up in Liechtenstein?
The second matchday is coming up in Switzerland’s top flight, and Wettbasis presents a pick for the match between Vaduz and St. Gallen! The Challenge League champions from Liechtenstein kicked off the 130th season of the league with a 1-2 away loss in Lugano.
During the defeat in Ticino, Vaduz was also forced to finish the match with a field player in goal. Goalkeeper Leon Schaffran was sent off shortly before the end of the game, and the team had already used up all its substitutions by that point. For their part, the visitors from St. Gallen secured a home win to kick off the Super League season against FC Zurich.
The match-winner was German Lukas Görtler, who scored a goal and provided an assist in the 2-1 victory over FCZ. St. Gallen was still riding high from their sensational victory over Benfica in the first leg of the Europa League qualifiers.
The second leg against the Portuguese powerhouse was already on the schedule this week. This time, however, the match ended in a bitter 0–5 thrashing, and the 90 minutes in Lisbon took a huge toll on the team’s energy (and imagination).
Since coach Marc Schneider’s opposing team was also in action internationally during the week in the Conference League qualifiers, we don’t expect an offensive spectacle. Against this backdrop, the betting odds for a maximum of two goals in the match between Vaduz and St. Gallen look promising.
Vaduz – St. Gallen Head-to-Head Record
Vaduz and the “Espen” last faced each other in a competitive match in April 2021, with St. Gallen prevailing 1-0 on home turf. There’s no new pattern in this rivalry: The Liechtensteiners have won just one of their last six meetings and have instead lost two-thirds (1-1-4) of their matches against the reigning Swiss Cup champion. For the upcoming clash between Vaduz and St. Gallen, the odds are once again slightly favoring a victory for the visitors.
Vaduz – St. Gallen Prediction
The start of the season has been a tough one for both clubs: In addition to the opening round of the new Super League season last weekend, they’ve also already played two games within a week in the qualifiers for European competitions.
Coach Enrico Maaßen’s visiting team faced a European soccer heavyweight right off the bat in Benfica. The Swiss runners-up initially held their own admirably with a surprising first-leg victory. Last Thursday evening, however, Lisbon made the St. Gallen squad’s limitations all too clear and booked their spot in the next round with a 5-0 win.
As a newly promoted team, Vaduz is playing a home game in the Super League for the first time in five years, but like their opponent, they’ve also had two recent international matches in the Conference League qualifiers under their belts. Admittedly, their opponent, Atletic Escaldes from Andorra, was clearly an easier matchup.
Given this situation, we expect both teams to be physically fatigued, and for the match between Vaduz and St. Gallen, we’re predicting no more than two goals. This prediction is supported by the chronic lack of goals in this matchup: Only one of the last eight league encounters ended with more than 2.5 goals!
