Basel – Crusaders

Basel hosts Crusaders at the St. Jakob-Park in a first game from the second qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League. In our best soccer predictions we will try to give you the best insights for this European clash.

Basel’s new head coach is the club legend Alexander Frei. One of the best strikers in history of Swiss soccer, Frei got the job after leading Winterthur to promotion last season. In 2018 Frei already spent some time as Basel’s interim manager, but now he got the job full-time. The fans surely hope he will do well because Alexander Frei is a huge name among Swiss soccer fans. In 2013 he finished his career with Basel’s shirt.

Alexander Frei already made his debut with a draw in the Swiss Super League. Last weekend he led Basel against his former club Winterthur in the first round of the 2022/23 season. Winterthur opened the score after just three minutes of playing, but Basel’s Wouter Burger equalised in the 70th minute. He used an assist from Zeki Amdouni and put the ball in the net. It was his first goal for the club after his transfer from Lausanne in the summer. The club expects a lot from Amdouni who showed some promise in the last few years.

Another player is Basel’s big signing for the summer, though. It’s the French striker Jean-Kevin Augustin who arrived at the club from the Ligue 1 club Nantes. A former player of PSG, RB Leipzig and Monaco, Augustin is one of the players supposed to bring Basel back on top. His career didn’t go very well in the last few years, but he’s a player who already proved his qualities in the Bundesliga. Now playing for Basel is a great chance for Jean-Kevin Augustin to revive his career and get back on his feet.

The 21-years old Dutch midfielder Wouter Burger is the player who scored Basel’s first goal for the 2022/23 season. He’s one of the best prospects in the club and surely he’s already scouted by the big European clubs. Burger is completely aware how important is for him to do well this season – this could open the doors for him to move to a top league.

Crusaders are one of the leading teams in Northern Ireland, but they are underdogs against Basel. They already eliminated one club from the Conference League, though – it happened in the previous round. That’s when Crusaders faced Gibraltar’s Magpies and shockingly lost the first leg, but won the second and reached the second round.

These are our best soccer predictions for the Conference League clash between Basel and Crusaders in the second round of qualifying. It’s be really surprising if the Swiss giants face any problems here. They are a much bigger club while Crusaders lost against a team from Gibraltar in the previous round. For Basel this tie is a great opportunity to get some confidence and put their season on a proper speed. Let’s see how they are going to do it.