Basel will host Viktoria Plzen at the St. Jakob-Park on Thursday in the final round of the 2025-26 UEFA Europa League‘s league phase. The hosts will be desperate to get a win and hope results favor them elsewhere to stand a chance of making it into the knockout playoff rounds.
Basel have put together a poor tournament so far, suffering losses against Freiburg, Olympique Lyonnais, Genk, Aston Villa, and most recently, a 3-1 defeat away to Red Bull Salzburg. The Swiss side enter the final round of the league phase as one of five teams tied on six points, two points shy of a top-24 spot, and will be hoping to make Thursday a historic night by booking their spot in the playoffs.
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Viktoria Plzen have little to play for, having already secured their place in the knockout playoff rounds, but will be disappointed to have conceded in the 90th minute of their 1-1 draw with Porto last week, which effectively put a top-eight spot out of reach.
The Czechian outfit are one of only three unbeaten teams in the UEL this season, having picked up two wins and five draws so far, and will be keen to remain unbeaten by the end of the league phase on Thursday night.
Basel vs Viktoria Plzen Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- Thursday’s fixture will mark the first competitive meeting between these two sides.
- Basel have won one and drawn one of their two previous meetings with opposition from the Czech Republic.
- Viktoria Plzen have recorded three wins, two draws and three losses in eight games against Swiss opponents.
- The visitors have the joint-best defensive record in the Europa League this season, having only conceded three goals across seven games played.
- The hosts’ highest finish in the Europa League was reaching the semifinals in the 2012-13 season, while the visitors’ best performance is reaching the round of 16 three times, most recently in the 2017-18 season.
Basel vs Viktoria Plzen Prediction
FCB are slight favorites to get a win thanks to their home advantage but will need to put up a really special performance to book a spot in the playoffs.
Viktoria will be satisfied to get a draw away from home and will rely on their solid defensive form to avoid defeat.
Prediction: Basel 1-1 Viktoria Plzen
Basel vs Viktoria Plzen Betting Tips
Tip 1 – Result: Draw
Tip 2 – Goals – Over/under 2.5 – Under 2.5 goals
Tip 3 – Both teams to score: Yes (Both teams have gotten on the scoresheet in each of Basel’s last seven games)
Edited by Peter P