Basel and Nice meet for the first time in a European competition! It’s time to check our Europa Conference League odds series, starring our Basel-Nice prediction, pick, and how to watch.
Basel is currently having some problems, losing twice in the last four games. The Swiss club stood out in this tournament after finishing second in Group H, which includes Slovan, Pyunik, and Zalgiris. Basel defeated Trabzonspor and SK Slovan Bratislava in the knockout rounds.
Nice is also struggling in the French Ligue 1. They are currently in a three-game winless run, featuring an 0-2 loss at home against Paris Saint-Germain. Nice topped Group D of the Europa Conference League, leading over Partizan, Koln, and Slovacko. They have beaten Sheriff in the Round of 16, scoring 4-1 on aggregate.
Here are the Basel-Nice soccer odds, courtesy of FanDuel.Â
Europa Conference League Odds: Basel-Nice Odds
FC Basel 1893: +260
OGC Nice: +230
Draw: +105
Over 2.5 Goals: +108
Under 2.5 Goals: -130
How to Watch Basel vs. Nice
TV: N/A
Stream: Paramount+, ViX+
Time: 3 PM ET / 12 PM PT
*Watch soccer LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why Basel Can Beat Nice
Basel needed penalties to edge out Slovan Bratislava in the last 16 after a pulsating 4-4 aggregate draw over two legs. However, since that win, Bebbi has won only one of their next four games, losing twice.
This poor run has seen them crash out of the Swiss Cup semifinals following a 4-2 loss against Young Boys. Heiko Vogel’s men are sixth in the Swiss Super League, one point behind fourth-placed Lugano in the final Conference League qualification spot. Basel has a 5-6-2 record when playing at home in their domestic league.
This season, Basel left a much better impression compared to last year’s edition of the UEFA Conference League when they were eliminated at the first obstacle. The Swiss team, due to the second place in Group H, started the competition in the first round of the knockout stage, where they surprisingly eliminated the Turkish Trabzonspor with a total of 2-1. Then, “RotBlau” sent home their colleague from the group stage, Slovan from Braslava, after a dramatic penalty series (4-1 on penalties / 5-4 on aggregate).
Basel is playing another terrible season and it is quite certain that they will remain without a title in their homeland for the sixth consecutive year. However, this year “RotBlau” have failed significantly more than in previous seasons, where now even their second position (a place that brings elite competition) is threatened.
The Swiss giants have absolutely no problems shaking the net and they have proved that a little over a million times this year, scoring more than two goals in eight of the last 12 competitive games. However, their main problem lies in the undisciplined defense that managed to keep the net intact only four times out of the last 15 challenges.
The players who will not be able to help the Swiss team in the first quarter-final match against OGC Nice will be the 34-year-old captain Fabian Frei who is still recovering from a herniated disc, as well as defender Arbau Cormas.
The news that pleases interim manager Heiko Vogel and his team ahead of Thursday’s clash is the return of top scorer Andi Zeqiri. The center forward returned to action at the weekend and will be available here. Zeqiri has five goals in the ECL while Darian Mles and Andy Diouf follow suit with five and four goal involvements, respectively.
Why Nice Can Beat Basel
OGC Nice, the last French representative on a European stage, has been reborn completely since the arrival of Didier Digard. The Eaglets, despite the 0-2 defeat by the Parisians at the weekend, come in a positive mood, because Saturday’s defeat was only the first in the last three months – winning eight and drawing six in that period. Didier Digard’s men have now gone five league games without a win, drawing four times since a 3-0 win at Monaco in February.
Nice now turn their attention to the Conference League, where they had a 4-1 aggregate win over Sheriff Tiraspol in the last 16. The Eaglets are unbeaten in four games since a 2-1 loss against Slovacko in October.
The thing worth mentioning is that the team from the Cote d’Azur looks much more concrete and efficient in front of the goal since the replacement of Lucien Favre, which is best witnessed by the fact that they packed three balls into the net of Monaco (3-0) and Marseille (3-1) in recent visits and are likely to stick to their attacking style.
Nice travels to Basel without the services of defensive trio Mattia Vitti, Youcef Atal, and Jordan Lotomba, as well as winger Sofiane Diop. 18-year-old Antoine Mendy will replace both injured right backs.
Centre-back Dante returns to Conference League action after missing the second leg of the round of 16 against Sheriff Tiraspol due to suspension. He, along with Jean-Clair Todibo and Youssouf Ndayishimiye, will lead the back line. Each of Ndayishimiye, BIllal Brahimi, Gaetan Laborde, and Nicolas Pepe are the joint-leaders for Nice with two goals in this competition, comprising eight of their 12 in eight games.
Final Basel-Nice Prediction & Pick
Basel will be adamant to keep their feet grounded in the St. Jakob-Park, but the French team has a lot of attacking options to smash goals in their nets. Back the visitors to give the Swiss a defeat in the first leg.
Follow Us
Subscribe
