Super League, Monday, 29.05.2023
One matchday before the end of the season, not too many decisions have been made in the Swiss Super League. Only the Young Boys have already been determined as the new champions for some time.
Since the league will be expanded to 12 participants next season, there will be no direct relegation this year. The bottom team in the table will only have to go through relegation against the third-placed team in the Challenge League.
Winterthur and Sion are fighting for this place. Both teams are trailing behind by ten points. While the promoted team has to play in Bern on Whit Monday, FCS is the guest of St. Gallen.
I play the bet “Over 2.5 goals” with my St. Gallen Sion tip at odds of 1.50 with provider Betano.
With Young Boys (1st place) and FC Lugano (3rd place) playing in the cup final, fifth place in the final standings is also enough for international business this season.
The Espen still have a small chance, two points behind 5th place. To do so, however, the Green-Whites would have to win their home match. In addition, Basel and GC would have to play to a draw in the direct duel.
And Zurich are unlikely to win their home match against Lugano. As far as the FCSG match is concerned, the bookmakers’ St. Gallen vs Sion prediction already gives hope.
Average odds of 1.75 are called for a home win. On the other hand, the guests are the pretty clear underdogs with win odds in the region of four times the betting stake.
Fc St. Gallen have been coached by Peter Zeidler since 2018. Under the German coach, the tendency of the Espen quickly pointed upwards. The first highlight was the vice-championship in the 2019/20 season.
The club also reached the cup finals in 2021 and 2022, but came away empty-handed twice. The FCSG could not maintain the good level in the league with a seventh and a fifth place in the last two seasons.
This year, the Green-Whites will probably miss out on the European Cup places again. After the 22nd matchday, St. Gallen were still in third place, two points behind second place.
However, this was followed by a series of ten games without a win. During this period, the team picked up just five points from five draws. This negative trend was brought to an impressive end in mid-May with a 6:1 home win against Basel.
However, on the last two matchdays, it was again only enough for two points in Luzern (1:1) and at Grasshoppers (2:2). On Thursday, the one point also only came about through a penalty kick in the second minute of injury time.
After all, the club from the north-east of Switzerland has the second-best offence in the league with 62 goals. St. Gallen have won 27 of their 42 points this season at home in Kybunpark.
On the other hand, coach Zeidler’s men are only in third last place in the away table. Also in the ranking of the second half of the season, only Winterthur and Sion have scored worse than FCSG.
With just one win from the last 14 competitive matches, the team is not particularly confident at the moment.
A good a fortnight ago, FC Sion changed coaches for the third time this season. During the World Cup break, Paolo Tramezzani was sacked and replaced by Fabio Celestini.
However, his tenure came to an end after just over three months. At the beginning of March, owner and president Christian Constantin tried his hand as interim coach for a few players.
Since there was no jolt through the team here either, Paolo Tramezzani was brought back after the 0:5 in Geneva on the 33rd matchday. The new, old coach is now still waiting for the first point after two games in his second term this season.
A 2-0 defeat at home to Young Boys was followed by a 2-1 loss to Luzern at the Tourbillon on Thursday. The home side had started well against FCL. FCS fought, played disciplined and were efficient.
As a result, the hosts led 1-0 at the break, with Sion hoping for their first home win since mid-October. But the home team completely botched the second period.
With the score at 1-1, Sion received a red card after an assault and had to concede the goal to lose 2-1 when they were shorthanded. After the end of the game, the team was sent off with numerous whistles.
At the end of the first half of the season, FC still had a five-point cushion on the last place. In the second half of the season, the club from Valais is bottom of the table with only two wins and 10 points.
69 goals conceded in 35 games is also the negative figure in the Super League. The team is also in last place in the home rankings. Only five teams have scored more points away from home than the Sion team.
After 139 duels between the two clubs, St. Gallen are ahead with 58 wins to 50 defeats. When visiting the Espen, there have been 38 victories for the home side in 70 comparisons, with 17 home defeats.
Sion have only won one of their last five meetings, with three defeats. In this period, there have also been four victories for the away team, with one draw.
The last three home matches between Sion and FCSG were particularly bitter. Here the results were 0:3, 2:7 and 0:4. However, the Green-Whites have also been waiting for a victory against the men from the Valais for four home games.
In these games, St. Gallen have just managed two draws against Sion.
Summary: Both teams have disappointed in the second half of the season. With the better quality and the home advantage, there is actually something to be said for St. Gallen. In addition, the conditions in Sion are once again extremely chaotic.
Also, Sion currently have to do without some important players, including Mario Balotelli, due to injury. Nevertheless, I’m not playing a 1×2 tip.
Because FCSG will probably no longer believe in their European Cup chances either. Moreover, they have often had problems against FCS at Kybunpark in recent years. A bet on many goals, however, might be the right alternative.
In 35 games involving the green-whites, 114 goals have already been scored this season. My St. Gallen Sion tip is therefore: There will be over 2.5 goals!
