Will defensive errors creep in again?

What was the norm in Swiss soccer between 2010 and 2017 was an exception last year – Basel celebrated the championship. Fabio Celestini took over FCB in 2023 when they were at the bottom of the table and led them back to the top of the national league in no time. However, the home side will no longer benefit from his expertise in the Basel vs. Grasshopper tip.

After winning the double last year, Celestini left the club at his own request. Ludovic Magnin has taken over his vacant position on the sidelines. The 46-year-old suffered a 1-2 defeat against St. Gallen at the start of the season, with both teams creating chances (1.96:2.08 xG). Following on from that, we are again expecting several goals in the Basel vs. Grasshopper prediction.

FC Basel – Grasshoppers Head-to-head record / H2H record

The training week after the first matchday began for both clubs with a review of their defeats. Basel (1-2 vs. St. Gallen) and the Hoppers (2-3 vs. Lucerne) both had major difficulties organizing their defense. This was confirmed by the visitors in their friendly against Celta Vigo (0-3).

Three of the last four direct encounters went to the Bebbi, who won the most recent meeting 2-1 at home. A certain home weakness is striking in this pairing – only two of the previous six encounters ended in a win for the home team.

FC Basel – Grasshoppers Tip

The results from the preseason have already indicated that Basel still needs to work on its coordination when defending. Including the test matches, the FCB’s last six appearances have ended with goals on both sides. Based on this, the betting odds for “Both teams to score” in Basel vs. Grasshopper are still quite high.

The Swiss record champions are the visitors to St. Jakob-Park, and like Basel, they conceded slightly more than two expected goals (2.05 xGA) on the first matchday. Both defenses are still making mistakes in the early stages of the season, which their opponents are taking advantage of.