Will all hell break loose in the second leg?
The race for the coveted starting places in Europe’s premier club competition is heating up, with the playoff second legs coming up this week. One match, in which everything still seems open after the 1-1 draw in the first leg, will take place in the Danish capital. Home team FC Copenhagen will host Swiss champions FC Basel at Parken Stadium. As expected, the home team is considered the favorite in the FC Copenhagen vs. FC Basel odds offered by the bookmakers.
Looking at the Bebbi’s record against Danish teams so far and Ludovic Magnin’s team’s first two away games of the current season, this assessment seems fair. The door to the Champions League group stage seems to be open for Jacob Neestrup’s team, but the Lions still have to get through the upcoming home game.
After the reigning Danish champions failed to qualify for the Champions League last season, a possible qualification against FC Basel would be Neestrup’s third Champions League appearance during his tenure. The Danes certainly have more international experience.
FC Copenhagen – FC Basel Head-to-head record
The draw in the first leg was the first meeting between the two teams. At the same time, last week’s match in Basel was FC Copenhagen’s first game against a Swiss team, which the Lions were unable to win. In the two previous matches against FC Lugano, they won both times in the Europa League qualifiers in the 2019/20 season. The Swiss champions, on the other hand, have slightly more experience against teams from Denmark.
In six matches, however, they have only managed one win, and that was not in regular time, but on penalties against Brøndby Copenhagen in the Conference League qualifiers for the 2022/23 season at home in Basel’s St. Jakob Park. Accordingly, the FC Copenhagen vs. FC Basel betting odds favor the team from the Danish league.
FC Copenhagen – FC Basel Tip
FC Basel successfully capitalized on the slump of Swiss perennial champions BSC Young Boys in the previous season and finally celebrated the national championship again after eight years. As a reward, the Bebbi will compete in the Champions League qualifiers. However, Ludovic Magnin’s team could not get past a 1-1 draw against the Danish champions in the first leg at home and now has to worry about advancing.
Due to the Swiss team’s poor record on Danish soil so far, the FC Copenhagen vs. FC Basel prediction is more than clear. The odds for the Swiss champions to advance are in the triple digits at betting providers with Paysafecard. The Bebbi’s greatest international success in recent years was reaching the semifinals of the Conference League in the 2022/23 season. However, FC Basel has not been consistently represented in European competitions in recent seasons, with their last appearance in the Champions League also dating back seven years.
The recent past of their upcoming opponent looks different. FC Copenhagen has played in the Champions League in two of the last three seasons. Jacob Neestrup’s team caused a sensation in the 2023/24 season in particular, advancing to the round of 16. Ideally, this success should be repeated this season, but first there is the qualifying second leg against the Swiss champions.
The latter have been weak away from home in their two away games so far this season. In Lugano and St. Gallen, they suffered defeats in the Swiss Super League. Ludovic Magnin’s team needs to improve defensively if it wants to survive at Parken Stadium. The hosts have a high-quality offense, which is why we believe there will be several goals in the second leg and are placing a moderate bet of 3 units on this tip.
One of these goals could also go to the Bebbi, who also have a lot to offer offensively with former Bayern star Xherdan Shaqiri. So far, Basel have scored in every competitive game of the new season, but have not yet managed to keep a clean sheet. In five of the Swiss champions’ six games so far this season, a bet on more than two goals in the game would also have been correct. The only exception was the qualifying first leg against Copenhagen. In the second leg against the Danes, however, we expect more goals in the game for the reasons mentioned above.
