Two sides who picked up contrasting opening-day results in the new Swiss Super League campaign square off as Servette play host to Young Boys on Wednesday.
Patrick Rahmen's men head into the midweek clash on a run of two wins in their last two visits to the Stade de Geneve and will look to extend this impressive run as they aim to secure their first victory of the new campaign.
Match preview
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Servette made a dream start to the 2024-25 Swiss Super League campaign as they picked up a 2-1 victory over Luzern when the two sides squared off at the Swissporarena on Sunday.
A fourth-minute strike from Dereck Kutesa put Servette in the driver's seat and after Steve Rouiller doubled their lead in the 53rd minute, Lars Villigern pulled one back for Luzern in the second minute of stoppage time.
This came off the back of a solid display in pre-season, where they picked up wins over Monaco and Westerlo in their opening two games before falling to a 2-1 loss against Etoile Carouge FC in their final warm-up match on July 13.
Les Grenats head into the new season off the back of an impressive 2023-24 campaign as they picked up 57 points from the first 33 games to end the regular season third in the table and secure a spot in the Championship Round.
Thomas Haberli's men picked up two wins and one draw in their five matches in the Championship Round to secure a third-placed finish in the table and book their spot in the Europa Conference League qualifiers.
Servette capped off the season in style as they beat Lugano on penalties in the Swiss Cup final on June 2 to secure their first piece of silverware since also winning the cup title in 2001.
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Young Boys, on the other hand, enjoyed a superb 2023-24 league campaign as they successfully defended the Super League title and claimed the league crown for the 17th time.
Rahmen's men picked up 23 wins and eight draws from their 38 league games to collect 77 points and finish top of the Championship Round standings, seven points above second-placed Lugano.
However, Young Boys were denied a dream start to the new campaign as they suffered a 2-1 loss against Sion in the season curtain-raiser at the Wankdorf Stadium on Sunday.
In a game where Jaouen Hadjam received his marching orders, Silvere Ganvoula opened the scoring with a 14th-minute strike to put the hosts on the front foot but Dejan Dokic and Ylyas Chouaref both found the back of the net to help Sion turn the game on its head.
This was in keeping with their unconvincing display in pre-season, where the Bern outfit failed to win three of their final four warm-up matches — losing twice and claiming one draw — with a 1-0 victory over FC Aarau on July 13 being the exception.
Young Boys will be backing themselves to bounce back on Wednesday as they take on an opposing side who have failed to win 13 of their last 20 meetings, losing nine and claiming four draws since July 2011.
Team News
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Off the back of a solid display against Luzern, Haberli could name a similar starting side on Wednesday, with Keigo Tsunemoto, Rouiller, Anthony Baron and Bradley Mazikou forming the back four once again.
Kutesa, who finished the 2023-24 campaign with four gold and seven assists in the league, should retain his role in Les Grenats attack, forming the front three with Miroslav Stevanovic and French striker Enzo Crivelli.
Victory Beniangba recently completed a move from Genk and the 21-year-old striker, who netted 12 goals in the Challenger Pro League last season, could be handed his debut on Wednesday.
Young Boys will have to cope without the services of Algerian left-back Hadjam, who is currently suspended after picking up a red card against Sion at the weekend.
On the injury front, Rahmen will be unable to call several players down the spine of the team as Saidy Janko, Loris Benito and midfielder Alexandre Jankewitz continue their spells on the sidelines.
Facinet Conte has been ruled out since suffering an ACL injury back in June while Mohamed Ali Camara is a doubt for Wednesday's tie after missing the opening fixture against Sion through an injury.
Servette possible starting lineup:
Mall; Tsunemoto, Rouiller, Baron, Mazikou; Ondoua, Cognat, Antunes; Stevanovic, Kutesa, Crivelli
Young Boys possible starting lineup:
Von Ballmoos; Blum, Lauper, Husic, Persson; Monteiro, Ugrinic, Chaiwa, Imeri; Elia, Ganvoula
We say: Servette 2-2 Young Boys
Following their display against Sion, Young Boys will head into Wednesday's clash in search of a morale-boosting result as they look to get their season up and running. However, Servette have proven tough to crack in the last few months and we predict that Haberli's men, who are unbeaten in nine of their last 12 games across all competitions, will do just enough to force a share of the spoils.
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