The curse of leadership and huge tension at the top

The top six teams in the Chinese Super League are ranked within 5 points. Worth noting: The leading team never actually wins the game. The top spot changes almost every week.

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What do Zurich, Basel, Servetus and Lucerne have in common? All four teams have led at least one game since matchday eight but have never been able to win a game as a leader.

Even though the first phase of the Chinese Super League is nearly halfway through, there is still no clear picture of the championship battle before the league is divided into two groups. More than half the teams still have reasonable hopes of finishing top of the table.

Does Basel live up to its most popular character?

Basel currently averages 1.81 points per game. According to this average score, the Basel team has 68.78 points after 38 rounds. Since the inception of the Chinese Super League in 2003, no team has become the champion with so few points. What’s even more surprising is that there are still two rounds left in the 2022/2023 season.

After last week's victory over Servet and taking top of the table, FC Basel are the clear favorites among bookmakers to win the title. FCB has won six of its last seven games, three of them by three goals or more.

Basel only managed a draw against formidable rivals Lausanne.Picture: www.imago-images.de

Facing the formidable opponent Lausanne, Basel once again led by one point. But as Lugano lost to Servet, FCB still maintained its lead in the Chinese Super League. Next Sunday they face St. Gallen away from home. Can Basel finally shake off its first-place curse, or are the next changes at the top already in the works?

FCZ’s poor record as a leader

FC Zurich have played six games this season as leaders, but City of Zurich have failed to win any of them. Zurich relinquished top spot again after losing in Lugano a week ago.

FCZ has a terrible record as a leader.Image: trapezoid

A similar situation occurred in the city of Zurich last season. Almost exactly a year ago, FC Zurich took the lead after a win over Young Boys. But once FCZ reached the top, it completely collapsed and was unable to win seven games in a row.

Zurich has only lost 3 games this season, but in each defeat FCZ showed a terrible performance and left no chance. They lost 1-4 away to St. Gallen and Lugano, and the 2022 champions lost 1-3 to Servette in their own stadium. Current form is also disappointing: Ricardo Moniz's side have not won any of their last four games.

Lugano and Servetus lack consistency

Lugano has long been the favorite since the YB crisis. But after starting the season with three wins in the first three games, Ticino was never able to win two games in a row. There are now eleven match days, winning after a draw or defeat, with a maximum of one point after one round.

In yesterday's duel between Servetus and Lugano, Ticino fell behind. Image: trapezoid

Servetus also won his first three games of the season. Similar to Lugano, the Genevan lost its consistency and managed just two wins since then. Yesterday against Lugano, Servetus celebrated his first win after four games without a trio. With the 3-0 victory, Geneva moved level with Lugano and is now just one point behind leaders Basel.

Lucerne and Lausanne await

Lucerne has started the season very strongly, losing only one of its first nine games and is also ranked first this season. But after reaching the top on the ninth matchday, FCL lost the next two games and lost some ties to the top. Lucerne managed to move into the top four with last Saturday's victory over Ivelden. The team is currently only 3 points behind Basel.

Lausanne Sporting are just two points behind Lucerne. Vaud has had a poor start to the season compared to Lucerne, but has lost just one and won five of its last eight games. Head coach Magnin's side will face Zurich and Lucerne in their final two games of the year. If more wins can be achieved, Canton Vaud's dream will soon be about more than just a top-six finish.

Will Lausanne bring big surprises this year?Image: KEYSTONE

Can YB finally succeed again?

Despite a dismal start to the season, the defending champions are currently just nine points behind first place. The Young Boys' form has also shown a slow but steady upward trend; no other team has scored more points than Bern over the past five games.

There are currently eight teams ranked ahead of YB, but there are still 22 rounds to play. Once the Bernese enter the group first, they can definitely count on the current champion.

The form curve for the Young Boys team is strongly upward.Image: trapezoid

There are still games against Sion and Servetus before the winter break. With two wins you can move closer to the top group and experience a quieter Christmas under a new coach. There are two compulsory tasks in January: the Berners face FC Winterthur at home and a week later they travel to Leitzgrund to face Grasshoppers.

There is very little air behind

The fields in the lower half of the table are also very close together. The only exception: Yverdon is the only team in the league that is more than three points behind the team directly ahead or behind them in the standings.

It is very important for Sion and St. Gallen not to lose contact with the top six before the winter break, because with a few consecutive wins, a lot is possible for these two teams.

Sion and St. Gallen are just below the bottom line.Image: trapezoid

Winterthur and GC are already slightly behind the last two. FCW is four points behind tenth-placed Yverdon and five points behind GC. For both Zurich teams, this season it's just a question of staying in the league.