Super League Playoffs, Friday, 31.05.2024
FC Thun will host Swiss record champions Grasshoppers Zurich in the relegation second leg on Friday. After the 1-1 draw in the first leg, the hosts have the advantage.
Particularly in view of the home record of the second-division club, there is much to suggest that the club from the Bernese Oberland will return to the Super League.
I’m confident that Thun will be promoted, but I don’t think the visitors are completely without a chance, so I want to hedge my bets accordingly.
As I also expect a few goals, my Thun Grasshoppers prediction is that the hosts will not lose after 90 minutes and that we will see goals on both sides.
Accordingly, I play the bet “Double chance 1X & Both teams score” at odds of 2.20 at Betano.
Confident and with four wins in a row and 17:4 goals, FC Thun traveled to Zurich for the first leg of the relegation play-off and almost celebrated their fifth consecutive win in a row.
However, a penalty in the seventh minute of stoppage time turned a very good starting position into just a good one
Thun remained unbeaten at the Letzigrund for the seventh competitive match in a row (5S, 2U). They are convinced that they can now make up for the victory needed for promotion at home – and rightly so!
After all, FC Thun have not lost a single home game in the entire 2023/2024 Challenge League season. In 18 home games, they recorded an impressive 15 wins and three draws.
This gave them ten points more than second-placed Sion in the home table. It was only because Sion picked up 13 more points away from home than Thun that they were denied direct promotion
With 45 goals, the club from the Bernese Oberland had the best home attack and, with a total of 73 goals, the second-best attack of all.
Thun Grasshoppers’ home strength in particular justifies betting in the direction of the hosts, who last lost a home game in league action almost exactly a year ago.
Thun have recently won ten home games in a row. They have scored at least twice in eight of these last ten home games. In this respect, the Hoppers can prepare themselves for something
This is all the more true given that the Swiss record champions have yet to win an away game in 2024. In ten away games in the Super League, there have only been four draws.
Overall, GCZ finished the season with a 2-5-12 away record with 13:28 goals scored. This was one of the reasons why the Zurich side ended the season seven points adrift of safety.
After conceding at least one goal in each of their last seven away games, the Grasshoppers were at least able to keep a clean sheet in their last away match at Lausanne-Sport (0-0).
After all this, I think betting on a few home goals is also a good idea. The Thun Grasshoppers odds for the bet “Over 1.5 home goals” are lucrative at up to 2.15.
In the best case scenario, such a bet is offered as a free bet. Fortunately, pretty much all betting providers are currently offering interesting EURO bonus offers.
However, the visitors are likely to put up a fight. They will be reluctant to return to the Challenge League after just three years in the top flight.
Certainly, the glory of the old days has long since faded and the last championship title for Switzerland’s record champions was over 20 years ago.
Nevertheless, it is safe to assume that the Hoppers will do everything in their power to avoid relegation after all. The last-second goal to make the final score 1:1 in the first leg is likely to have given them a boost
The direct comparison favors the visitors with 31 wins, 18 draws and 24 defeats, as well as 108:90 goals. However, the last direct duel before the relegation first leg took place almost three years ago.
Thun won 1:0 at home in the round of 16 of the Swiss Cup. Fans of both camps will certainly remember their last season together.
In the 2020/2021 season, GCZ won 3:1 at home on matchday 31. A few weeks later, the Zurich side were promoted to the Super League as top of the table, just one point ahead of Thun.
The FCT, on the other hand, were denied promotion via relegation. They now want to make up for this late
The chances of this happening are not bad. Soccer writes a lot of crazy stories, as we recently saw in the relegation to the German Bundesliga, for example.
However, I can’t imagine Thun losing their first league home game of the season in the relegation second leg of all things.
In my opinion, however, it won’t go completely without conceding a goal, as the record champions will give their all here.
Accordingly, I opt for the Thun Grasshoppers tip: Double chance 1X & Both teams to score
