Basel will host the first leg of their round-of-16 tie against Slovan Bratislava on Thursday at St. Jakob Park at 20:00 GMT.
Key Highlights
Basel will look to make a good start to this tie by playing at home ahead of the second leg next week. The focus for Basel will be to get a lead to take into the second leg and bolster their chances of making it to the quarter-finals.
Slovan Bratislava, who warmed up for the trip to Basel with a thumping 4-1 win at home to Spartak Trnava, will be looking for a disciplined performance to get a respectable result ahead of the second leg for the Slovak Super Liga side.
Injury Report
Basel will miss the services of center-back Arnau Comas (unknown injury) and defensive midfielder Taulant Xhaka (illness) in the clash against Bratislava on Thursday.
Slova Bratislava will be without right-back Lukas Pauschek (hand fracture), goalkeeper Michak Sulla (crucial ligament injury), and left midfielder Jaromir Zmrhal 9unknown injury).
Prediction
Basel will look to dominate the ball, press across the pitch and set the match’s tempo.
Slovan Bratislava will look to be compact in their approach and make it hard for Basel to break them down.
Basel will win the match and take the lead into the second leg next week.
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