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St. Gallen will host Basel at the Kybunpark on Saturday in the opening round of the 2023-24 Swiss Super League campaign.
The home side had mixed results in the Swiss top-flight last season, narrowly missing out on European football for a second consecutive campaign. They finished sixth in the league standings with 45 points from 36 games and will be looking to put out a stronger showing this season.
St. Gallen were quite busy during the off-season, playing six friendlies which started with a 2-1 win over Schaffhausen and ended with a 6-1 demolition of La Liga outfit Villarreal.
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Basel, meanwhile, endured a highly underwhelming campaign prompting the dismissal of manager Alex Frei back in February. They finished a place and a point above their weekend opponents in the league table last season with their lowest points tally in over two decades.
The visitors beat Old Boys 3-0 in their last pre-season outing and will hope they can carry that momentum onto the new season.
St. Gallen vs Basel Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- Saturday's game will mark the 90th meeting between St. Gallen and Basel. The home side have won 20 of those games while the visitors have won 44 times. There have been 25 draws between the two teams.
- The home side picked up a 6-1 victory in the last meeting between the two teams, ending a six-game winless streak in this fixture.
- The visitors are without a clean sheet in their last eight games in this fixture.
- Only four of St. Gallen's 13 league defeats this season have come away from home.
- Basel scored 51 goals in the Super League last season, their fewest in the Swiss top-flight since the 1999-2000 campaign.
St. Gallen vs Basel Prediction
St. Gallen ended the previous campaign on a four-game unbeaten run and will be looking to build on that this weekend. They have won their last two competitive games on home turf and will be looking to extend that streak here.
Basel, meanwhile, closed out the previous season with just one win from their final five games. They have had their struggles on the road in recent times and may have to settle for a point on the opening day.
Prediction: St. Gallen 2-2 Basel
St. Gallen vs Basel Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Result: Draw
Tip 2 - Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Over 2.5 goals (Five of the last seven matches between the two teams have produced more than 2.5 goals)
Tip 3 - Both teams to score: YES (Both sides have found the back of the net in their last seven matchups)
