St Gallen meet Victoria Guimarães today. Image: trapezoid
St. Gallen and Lugano will be challenged in the fifth round of the divisional league on Thursday. Eastern Switzerland need points against Vitoria Guimarães, with Ticino competing in top-flight competition in Warsaw.
The recent results in St. Gallen are simply not correct. After making a good start in the Chinese Super League and qualifying for the divisional league stage, they have only achieved 2 wins in the past 15 games in all competitions. After being eliminated in the cup against lower-tier side Bellinzona, there was a draw with Basel on Sunday, ultimately losing a majority victory.
The Alliance League has also suffered setbacks recently. After losing two opening games and a forced victory in Larne, Northern Ireland, the only result was a 2-2 draw with Bakatopola in front of their home fans. The eastern Swiss team finds itself in 25th place ahead of the penultimate round. The top 24 teams qualify for the knockout stages.
The match against Bakatopola ended in a draw. Image: trapezoid
A first home win in a European Cup league or group stage in more than a decade will come in handy. However, this task is not easy. Vitoria Guimarães is visiting eastern Switzerland. The team is ranked sixth in the Portuguese league, remains undefeated in the divisional league and eliminated FCZ with a total score of 5-0 in the third qualifying round.
“The roles are clear,” says Enrico Maassen. Still, the St. Gallen coach believes there is a chance. “They define themselves by keeping the ball and playing tidy football. We have to catch them in the transition game and I saw our options there.”
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Lugano faces an equally daunting task. The leaders of the Chinese Super League are visiting Legia Warsaw. The Poles are in perfect form in the divisional league and are the only team yet to concede a goal.
There is no pressure in Lugano. With three wins, Ticino is clearly in the knockout stages. Head coach Mattia Croce-Totti's team is ranked 8th and is the last team to advance directly to the last 16. St. Gallen has five points in reserve.
Lugano is on track in the divisional league.Image: trapezoid
Furthermore, Lugano had an easier task on paper in the last game. The Bianconeri finally host Cypriot club Paphos, while St Gallen travel to Heidenheim. (Ritz/SDA)
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