Young Boys vs Red Star Belgrade Predictions

As the champions of Switzerland, Young Boys have bypassed every round until now, which means that just two games stand between them and a place in the Champions League group stages. In contrast, Crvena have endured something of a gruelling qualification campaign, though such efforts should have given them a solid platform from which to build.

Wednesday’s Swiss hosts haven’t had the chance to warm up for this match by being involved in the previous rounds, though they do come here off the back of three league wins, while they have the memories of doing very well at home during the group stages last term to draw upon.

Last season, Gerardo Seoane’s men held their own against both Juventus and Valencia, as they took four points off that pair at this venue, drawing 1-1 with Valencia and beating Juventus by two goals to one. Clearly, they’re no mugs. On their own patch, last season, if we include their home qualifier against Zagreb, Young Boys, who have much the same squad, posted a pleasing average of 1.97 expected goals for, which tells us that they can certainly create chances.

Crvena Zvezda – Red Star Belgrade for English football fans – come into this match after participating in three qualification rounds. They’ve shown that they’re no pushovers during that time, though their travelling efforts don’t exactly bode well ahead of this fixture.

On the road in qualifying, Wednesday’s visitors have drawn two and lost one, scoring two and conceding three in the process. At the back, as they’ve surrendered just three in three, conceding an average of 0.94 expected goals, they’ve done a decent job, though they’ve not exactly faced teams known for being prolific on their own patch. Furthermore, for all they’ve competed, Red Star haven’t exactly impressed going forward on the road as they’ve scored just two goals in well over 270 minutes. The fact that they created just 0.90 expected goals in a game that lasted 126 minutes during the previous round is a tad worrying.

This probably isn’t the most enticing fixture from a betting point of view, though those looking to get involved can try ‘Young Boys to Win & Under 3.5 Goals’. From a defensive point of view, Crvena have competed well, even when playing away from home, so they ought to avoid a battering in Switzerland, though their lack of strength going the other way could turn out to be costly, especially as they’re up against a side that scored home goals (and generally attacked well) against teams such as Valencia and Juventus last term.