Basel vs Sevilla Betting Tips and Predictions

There is nothing Basel enjoy more than humbling one or two of Europe’s bigger clubs so a tie with holders Sevilla where they are clear underdogs even with home advantage might just be to their liking. They are running away with the Swiss Super League with a 14 point advantage on Young Boys and their weekend game at Lugano was postponed so they’ve had a nice break of nearly 2 weeks to prepare for this match.

They knocked French club Saint Etienne out in dramatic circumstances in the last round. They were beaten 3-2 in the 1st leg away from home but took an early lead in the 2nd leg through Luca Zuffi. An increasingly bad-tempered game saw both sides reduced to 10 men but going into the final minute Basel were on the verge of progress via the away goals rule when the visitors scored to seemingly send themselves into the last 16. However Zuffi scored again in stoppage time to send Basel through to a date with the holders.

Sevilla will be hoping this isn’t their only trip to St Jakob-Park this season with the final also to take place in Basel. They are gunning for a 3rd straight Europa League triumph but will need to improve their away form if they are to get there. They are yet to win away in La Liga and were held by lowly Getafe on the road at the weekend. They have also lost all 4 away matches in Europe this season although their defeat to Molde in the last round was only after a comfortable 1st leg win in Southern Spain.

Even so there are clearly big question marks about their ability to play on the road and surely backing Basel Double Chance at 8/11 offers great value here particularly given Basel’s fine record on this ground in European competition. They have beaten the likes of Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Liverpool at home during the past 5 years.