LIVE Basel – FCSB, difficult mission in the Europa League for the Romanian champion

LIVE at 19:45 » FC Basel – FCSB

Reigning Swiss champions FC Basel, back on the throne after an eight-year wait, faced only tough opponents in the first three rounds of the second most important continental competition, Freiburg, Lyon and Stuttgart, managing to collect three points.

In the only match played at home, Ludovic Magnin's team prevailed against those from Stuttgart, a team in the fight for the Bundesliga podium. According to local journalists, the best developments of the Swiss this season came even in the Europa League.

FCSB, on the other hand, need a point or points in Switzerland to keep their chances of a play-off spot alive as they try to repeat last season's formidable run.

So far, the red-blues have collected 3 points after success in the Netherlands with Go Ahead Eagles, and setbacks with Bologna and Swiss side Young Boys, against whom Basel drew 0-0 in the last leg of the championship. On the last visit to Basel, in the Champions League, the red-blues narrowly missed a victory, being tied 1-1 in extra time, exactly 12 years ago, on November 6, 2013.

Basel – FCSB, probable teams:

Basel (4-2-3-1): Hitz – Vouilloz, Daniliuc, Barisic, Schmid – Leroy, Metinho – Traore, Shaqiri, Otele – Ajeti
reserves: Salvi, Spycher – Adjetey, Cisse, Bacanin, Ze, Agbnonifo, Ruegg, Koindredi, Salah, Broschinski, SoticekÂ
Coach: Ludovic Magnin

• Otele is an older acquaintance of Romanian football. He played at UTA Arad and CFR Cluj, being top scorer, tied with Florinel Coman, in the 2023-2024 season (18 goals).

• Flavius ​​Daniliuc was born to Romanian parents, originally from Suceava, in Vienna, preferring to represent Austria.

• Albian Ajeti is the brother of Arlind Ajeti, who also played in Gruia.

FCSB (4-2-3-1): Târnovanu – Pantea, Ngezana, Graovac, Radunovic – Tănase, Șut – Miculescu, Olaru, Thiam – Bîrligea
reserves: Zima, Udrea – Alhassan, Lixandru, Cisotti, Oct. Popescu, Politic, Kiki, Alibec
Coach: Elias Charalambous

Referee: Juxhin Xhaja (Albania)
ASSISTANT: Arber Zalla and Rejdi Avdo (Albania)
Book: Olsion Yzeiraj (Albania)
VAR referee: Michael Fabbri (Italy)
Assistant VAR: Kreshnik Barjamaj (Albania)

• In the last two years, the Albanian Juxhin Xhaja refereed the Romanian champion twice, in the victory with CSKA Sofia (3-2, August 2023) and the draw with Hoffenheim (0-0, December 2024). He also led the match between the University of Craiova and Bașakşehir (2-1, August).

What the two technicians said before the game:

We are favorites at home. This is our expectation and we must not hide. We want to advance to the next round. To do that we should win these home games. But we'd better not underestimate this team. The team from Bucharest is a very good one and, once again, everything will come down to the small details.

We noticed that he changes the team very often, from match to match to match, so it will not be easy for us to guess which players will start with. But we know what system they use, what type of football they play. It's a team that has 6-7 footballers who also play for the national team.

– Ludovic Magnin, coach Basel

We meet a very good team. We've analyzed them many times and we know we're going to have to suffer tomorrow night, but we've come prepared for it. We didn't just come to play, we believe a lot in our chance, although we know how difficult the match will be. However, we have shown that we can be competitive at this level. We have to be 100% from the first to the last whistle and I hope we can show that ambition tomorrow.

All parties are very important to us. By winning matches, you also gain confidence. A lot can happen in 90 minutes, but we have high expectations and will try to give everything tomorrow. I hope we have a great European night even if we are playing away. We have our style of play, and that doesn't change whether we're playing at home or away. We will press high, we will try to have possession. In Europe, the level is higher, but we will not change our principles.

– Elias Charalambous, FCSB coach

Party in memory of Emeric Ienei

A day before the game, the shocking news came for Romanian football: Emeric Ienei passed away at the age of 88. The technician who brought the European Champions Cup to Bucharest and who qualified and led the first representative team to the World Championship in 1990 will be honored by the champion of the last two Superleague seasons.

The red-blues will wear black armbands, there is already a request to the continental forum regarding a moment of silence, which, most likely, will be accepted.

PHOTO. What does the stadium look like where FCSB will play

FCSB returns to St. Jakob-Park in Basel for the duel in the fourth leg of the Europa League, and GSP took the pulse of the place before the clash. The arena, the largest in Switzerland, looks immaculate. At the time of our visit, the final details were being worked on: small logistical touches, finishing touches to the stands and the careful maintenance of the turf, a perfectly even surface worthy of being called a “pool table”.

Located in the “St. Alban” district, in the east of the city, the arena is UEFA category 4, has a capacity of 38,512 for domestic matches and around 37,500 for UEFA competitionsbeing the largest stadium in Switzerland. The atmosphere at “Joggeli” is a special one. Basel's supporters are among the most passionate not just in Switzerland, but in Central Europe, with the 'Muttenzerkurve', Basel's North Lawn, being the soul of the stadium. At the last match, the club was fined because of the supporters' behavior.

• More than 20,000 supporters will be in the “St. Jakob – Park” stands, of which approximately 500 FCSB fans, 250 traveling from Bucharest.

Here's how the Europa League group standings look like: