Betdistrict.com
French side Saint-Etienne and perennial Swiss champions FC Basel will square off in the first leg of the Europa League Last 32, with the home side a 2.25 odds favorite according to the bookmakers. It surely looks like one of the most balanced ties this round has to offer.
Saint-Etienne is having another solid year, 4th place in the French Ligue 1, strong at home like usually. The hosts achieved a rather comfortable qualification from a group with Lazio, Dnepr and Rosenborg, even though they finished 2nd, 5 points behind Lazio. Saint-Etienne is on a run of 4 matches without a loss in all competitions and recorded a 1-1 draw at home against AS Monaco in the last match over the weekend.
Bet on St Etienne vs Basel and get your 100 Eur first deposit bonus at Ohmbet now!
Basel had no problems winning a group with Fiorentina, Lech Poznan and Belenenses, finishing with 13 points, 3 ahead of the Italians. It has been a very good campaign for the Swiss side in 2015 and they came out guns blazing after the Winter break as well, winning their two matches against Luzern and Grasshopper with a 7-0 goal difference. The 4-0 road win over second placed Grasshoppers last weekend was a dominant performance against a very good side, virtually booking the title for Basel – as they now lead the league by 15 points.
Basel seems to be the better side here, they this is one of the best teams they had in the last decade and that says a lot considering how successful Basel has been in Europe over the years. Their experience in European competitions will surely count a lot against Saint Etienne, but the French side are obviously a very difficult opponent.
I don’t think Basel will lose this considering their form, confidence and experience. However, winning at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard is a tough prospect for pretty much any side in the world, so I also don’t believe that Saint-Etienne will lose. The logical conclusion is a draw and that seems to be the most probable result here – despite the draw having much higher odds than St Etienne to win.
My tip is the draw, it should be a close game which nobody will want to lose. Simple bet really and I`m going with low-mid stakes on this pick. Prediction: Saint-Etienne – FC Basel 1-1.
Pick: Draw
Odds: 3.35 @ 1xBet
Stake: 4
Possible profit: 9.40
Event date: 18 February
