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Swiss teams in the European Cup Strong Portuguese and the Serbian leader as hurdles

SDA

8.8.2024 - 04:00

Coach Thomas Häberli and his Servette FC have to prove themselves against Braga.
Coach Thomas Häberli and his Servette FC have to prove themselves against Braga.
Keystone

Servette, Lugano and FC Zurich are in action in the European Cup on Thursday. The hurdles in the 3rd qualifying round are high.

Keystone-SDA

08.08.2024, 04:00

08.08.2024, 09:49

On paper, Servette have the most difficult task ahead of them. In order to advance to the Europa League play-offs and thus secure a place in the league phase, Geneva must eliminate Braga, who finished fourth in the last Portuguese championship. Only Sporting, Benfica and FC Porto were better than Braga last season.

The Portuguese club, which has the same majority shareholder as Paris Saint-Germain, Qatar Sports Investments, has a number of top players in its squad. The most famous of these is João Moutinho, the now 37-year-old midfield organizer. The first leg will take place on Thursday (21:30) in the famous stadium built into a rock in Braga, with the second leg in Geneva a week later.

Conference League qualifier. FC St.Gallen put themselves in a good starting position thanks to a strong first half

Conference League qualifierFC St.Gallen put themselves in a good starting position thanks to a strong first half

Lugano started the European Cup qualifiers in the Champions League and are now in the Europa League after losing to Fenerbahce Istanbul. Their opponents there, Partizan Belgrade, are probably a touch less strong than the Turks. While Lugano failed to beat Fenerbahce, Partizan went down to Dynamo Kiev with a total score of 2:9. However, the eight-time Serbian champions are doing well in the league: after three rounds, they, like Lugano, are top of the table. The first leg (20.00) will take place in Belgrade.

For both Servette and Lugano, the path in the European Cup continues after this round in any case: Servette would face Trabzonspor or Rapid Vienna in the play-offs, the last qualifying round before the league phase, if they progressed in the Europa League, and Chelsea if they were eliminated in the Conference League. Lugano would face Besiktas Istanbul in the Europa League and the Danes of Silkeborg or the Belgians of Gent in the Conference League. If Servette and Lugano win one of their two rounds, they will certainly still be in the European Cup in the fall.

Zurich, on the other hand, has no wild card. Last season's fourth-placed team must deliver against the Portuguese side Vitoria Guimarães and progress in order to stay in the running. FCZ, which got off to a good start to the season, will first play at home (19.00) before traveling to Guimarães, the northern Portuguese city just 25 kilometers from Braga, next Thursday. The two clubs were also very close in sporting terms last season: Vitoria finished five points behind Braga in 5th place. The new season begins in Portugal this weekend.