FC Copenhagen (Den) vs Basel (Sui) prediction: EUROPE: Champions League – Qualification betting tips on match 2025-08-26 19:00.
[p]A place in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) proper is the prize for Copenhagen or Basel, who enter this finely poised play-off second leg after playing out a 1-1 draw in Switzerland. [/p]
[p]Match News and Current Form[/p]
[p]Last appearing in the UCL proper in 2023/24, Denmark’s most consistent European participants and reigning Superliga champions return to Parken Stadium after coming from behind in last week’s first leg. Copenhagen won their last UCL play-off against Raków Częstochowa two seasons ago, although they generally have not fared well in qualifying for the competition, crashing out in ten of their previous 15 such campaigns. Should this fixture follow a similar pattern to the first leg however, the Lions can point to a strong record in UEFA penalty shootouts (W4, L1). [/p]
[p]Switzerland’s most regular UCL main-draw participants Basel potentially stand 90 minutes away from a ninth appearance in the competition proper – their first since 2017/18 – and will head here well rested due to no league fixture between the two legs. That is just as well after FCB’s uncharacteristically poor start to their league season (W2, L2), although despite their inconsistencies, Basel have a perfect UEFA penalty-shootout record should it come down to the crunch (W4). [/p]
[p]Head-to-Head History[/p]
[p]Last week’s 1-1 draw was the first meeting between the sides. Basel have now won only one of their six matches against Danish opposition (D2, L3), while Copenhagen remain unbeaten against Swiss outfits (W2, D1). [/p]
[p]Hot Stats and Streaks[/p]
[p]Copenhagen’s opponents have received red cards in three of their last eight games. [/p]
[p]Copenhagen have scored nine second-half goals across their last five encounters. [/p]
[p]All six of Basel’s competitive matches this season have seen both teams score. [/p]
[p]Each of Basel’s last 15 competitive outings have produced at least one goal before half-time. [/p]
[p]Key Players to Watch and Missing Players[/p]
[p]Copenhagen centre-half Gabriel Pereira scored his side’s only goal in each of their last two competitive games, while five of his last six goals have come via headers. His primary directive will be to shackle the likes of Basel’s Xherdan Shaqiri, who has now contributed to goals in four of his five UCL qualifiers after a first-leg penalty (G2, A2). [/p]
[p]Basel remain without centre-back Finn van Breemen, while Copenhagen are most notably set to miss Thomas Delaney.[/p]
[p]For all the latest team news, please check the Flashscore match centre.[/p]
[p]Betting Analysis[/p]
[p]The intensely cagey nature of the first leg foreshadows further tension as this tie draws to a close, which is why we are going for a speculative pick of this match going all the way to a penalty shootout. [/p]
[p][i]Author: Matthew Billon[/i][/p]