For the first time since 2013, FC St. Gallen will play a match in the main draw of a European competition on Thursday. Cercle Brugge could be in it for the eastern Swiss side.
03.10.2024, 05:00
03.10.2024, 06:58
SDA
Cercle Brugge will be the first of six opponents for FC St. Gallen in the league phase of the reformed competition, alongside AC Fiorentina, Northern Irish club Larne, TSC Backa Topola from Serbia, Vitoria Guimarães and Heidenheim. Of the 36 teams in the league phase, the top eight qualify directly for the round of 16. The teams in places 9 to 24 compete in play-offs, while the last twelve are eliminated.
Cercle finished 5th in the Belgian Jupiler Pro League last season. The team's start to the new season was unsuccessful; in third last place with eight points from nine games, they are currently relegated.
Cercle's mediocrity and St. Gallen's desire
For the bookmakers, the Belgians are slightly favored at the Jan Breydel Stadium, which they share with big city rivals FC Brugge. However, the Belgium legionnaire Andi Zeqiri and the former St. Gallen player Günther Nasdalla see FCSG as stronger. The 79-year-old Nasdalla, who played five years for St. Gallen and two years for Cercle in the 1970s before settling in Bruges, described his former club Cercle as "mediocre" in the "St. Galler Tagblatt". Zeqiri told "Blick" that St. Gallen were stronger than Cercle's counter-attacking team.
FCSG president Matthias Hüppi emphasized in the Blick podcast "FORZA!" that his club not only wants to be part of the European comeback after eleven years, but also wants to achieve something: "We don't want to take part just to say it was easy. I'm one hundred percent sure that both the team and the coaching team will do everything they can to get points." The longing for Europe is huge in St. Gallen, the 1500 tickets for the guest sector were sold out in no time at all, according to Hüppi.
However, caution is advised with regard to Cercle striker Kévin Denkey. The Togolese international has been directly involved in 73 goals in 139 games for the club. This season, the 23-year-old has five goals and one assist despite a poor start.
Lugano again in Thun
FC Lugano welcome HJK Helsinki, runners-up in the Finnish championship in the previous season, at 21:00. The Ticino side, who lost out to Turkish clubs Fenerbahce and Besiktas Istanbul in qualifying for the Champions League and Europa League, continue to play their European Cup matches in Thun. The new Cornaredo in Lugano, the AIL Arena, should be ready for use in 2026.
