Lausanne Sport
Lausanne will be in great spirits welcoming St. Gallen at home. They demonstrated some really enterprising football on Sunday in Sion thanks to a tactical masterpiece by their manager Celestini. Summer signings Kololli, Diniz and Torres have added a real cutting edge on the pitch. Against unsettled visitors they will be quietly confident of securing a second win in a row. A change of formation occurred last week as they lined-up in a 3-4-3 formation. They are likely to continue with the same style here as Celestini has admitted that his team has looked good on the pitch and they did well in both phases of play. A balanced to an attacking approach is likely. Lausanne are often labelled an attacking team but they’re a team that has a good manager that is aware of the potential traps in these kind of matches so they may be slightly more balanced at the start. The hosts will try to dominate possession in midfield with Custodio and Araz aiming to redistribute balls from the central third. They’ll be searching for space on the wings so expect to see both fullbacks highly positioned and offensively minded. A problem could occur in the latter phase of the match where three offensive players are expected to drop their intensity when pressing forward. In terms of ball possession they’ll be a strong side as much as Custodio will be able to control the ball and dictate the tempo of play.
St. Gallen
St. Gallen have very good team news. Gaudino is back from injury and he will be among the squad for this match. If he starts, the starting XI will be much more creative with him in the midfield. The only concern is Aleksić, he has been struggling with sinus problems this week and his condition will be monitored after the last training session. Their win over Grasshopper last weekend has seen pressure slightly decrease after Zinnbauer was already strongly criticised by the media. The team is still unsettled and the best XI is not yet known. That’s a question that manager has been unable to answer so far this season, a further negative result will increase pressure while his dealings so far with the press haven’t been good either. A balanced approach is likely. They will play in the recently used 4-4-2 formation and despite winning their last match they cannot go into this game confident of winning as they are a team that lacks consistency. Expect a crowded and compact midfield with St. Gallen physically pressing hard off the ball. They will be focused on trying to be superior in the ball possession which will be hard but once they get an edge they will be aiming to maintain their advantage with secure passing display. If he starts Gaudino will provide much better creativity in the central third. He is a young player but he has experience and possesses a decent ability to start attacks from the central area. Falling behind in this match will result in them changing personnel with an aim to increase their offensive intent. They’ll become more open in the latter stages as a defeat would be a disappointing result, knowing that Zinnbauer is under constant pressure, he will demand maximum concentration.
Verdict & Prediction
I recommend a bet on Lausanne, as they will be highly motivated to make it two wins in a row after an impressive 1-3 win at Sion last weekend.
Prediction : Lausanne -0.50
Odds : 2.19 Dafabet