Lugano and Basel will battle for three points in a Swiss Super League round 19 clash on Sunday (January 19th). The game will be played at Stadio di Cornaredo.
The home side have not been in action since playing out a 2-2 draw at home to Pafos in the UEFA Conference League. They went behind to Amir Sapi's fourth-minute own goal but Mohamed Belhadj and Mattia Bottani scored to put them 2-1 up at the break. David Goldar equalized in injury time.
The Bianconeri will shift their focus to the domestic scene where their last game saw them suffer a 4-1 defeat at home to Lausanne.
Basel fell to a 1-0 home loss to Grasshoppers. Noah Persson's 21st-minute strike proved to be the difference between the two sides.
The left the Rotblau in second spot in the standings, having garnered 30 points from 18 games. Lugano are one point better off in top spot.
Lugano were on the wrong end of a harrowing defeat at home last time out in the league and will be keen to bounce back in their first game of the new year. The defeat saw them fail to open up a four-point gap at the summit as they remain one point ahead.
Basel know that a win here would take them to the top of the table but Fabio Celestini's side have a poor record in this fixture in recent years.
We are backing the two sides to cancel each other out in a low-scoring stalemate.
Prediction: Lugano 1-1 Basel
Tip 1 - Result: Draw
Tip 2 - Both teams to score
Tip 3 - Over 1.5 goals