While Stade Lausanne-Ouchy will be looking to spring a surprise against FC Luzern, Basel will be aiming for their first win under Stephan Lichtsteiner in St. Gallen.
04.02.2026, 05:00
04.02.2026, 07:06
SDA
When Stephan Lichtsteiner took over as FC Basel coach last week, he spoke of "important tests" that lay ahead. First there was the match against Viktoria Pilsen in the Europa League. Then the match against Super League leaders FC Thun at the weekend. And finally the cup game in St. Gallen.
Bumpy start for Lichtsteiner
The first two of these three games were lost. Lichtsteiner's debut as a professional coach was therefore anything but ideal. The champions are 13 points behind Thun in the table - the title defense is now a distant prospect. Especially as the Bernese Oberlanders do not appear to be on the verge of collapsing.
Lichtsteiner doesn't want to hear any of that and told "blue" after the game: "I'm convinced that we can still come back this season. We will fight to the end." Nevertheless, winning the cup seems to be the only real chance of averting a title-less season after winning the double last year.
St. Gallen with home strength as an advantage
A total of three wins are still needed to achieve this, but first the quarter-final against St. Gallen must be won. The eastern Swiss side, who are two points ahead of Basel in the table with one game less to play, squandered a win in stoppage time against Luzern at the weekend.
Nevertheless, St. Gallen have six wins in ten games in all competitions. And: Basel have not won in eastern Switzerland for three years. Whether this is a good omen for the hosts or rather for Basel remains to be seen. Because the last game that Basel won away against FCSG was also a quarter-final in the Swiss Cup.
Lausanne-Ouchy aim for a sensation
In the second game of the evening, FC Luzern will face Stade Lausanne-Ouchy. As a Challenge League team, the French-speaking Swiss are in the underdog role, but will welcome the favorites with great self-confidence.
Firstly, because the Vaud team won their last match against Lucerne 2:1 almost two years ago. Secondly, because the team managed to defeat Challenge League leaders Vaduz 5:2 on Friday.
Despite these successes, a victory for Lausanne-Ouchy would be a big surprise - the team has never made it past the round of 16 in the Cup. FC Luzern, on the other hand, last reached the semi-finals of the Swiss Cup in the 2021/22 season.
