Our prediction for this Europa Conference League match:
St. Jakob-Park will host Thursday’s Conference League game between Basel and Qaragab, the two teams who are vying for top position in Group H. Basel did well to beat Kairat Almaty 3-2 in their last group game to climb to first place in the standings. A man to watch in the home team will be Brazil attacker Arthur, who has been scoring goals for fun in all competitions this season Esposito and Padula continue to miss out with injuries.
Qarabag, on the other hand, dropped two points in a 2-2 draw with ten-man Omonia, and, as a result, they face an uphill task in the last group game. Since Basel have turned their St. Jakob-Park into a real fortress, the visitors are unlikely to grab something from the match. The good news for the visitors is that defender Abbas Huseynov has overcome his injury.
Highlighted Player (Timm Klose):
After spending his youth career in Swiss clubs BSC Old Boys and FC Basel Timm Klose made his first-team debut for FC Thun during the 2009/2010 Swiss Challenge League campaign. The 193-cm-tall centre-back scored four goals in 59 appearances in the league for the Stockhorn Arena outfit and in May, 2011 he moved to Germany, signing a three-year deal with Nurnberg for a fee of €400,000.
After playing 45 games (league) for der Ruhmreiche Timm Klose joined Wolfsburg and he played for the Wolves from 2013 to 2016. In the winter of 2016 signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with Premier League side Norwich City, but and the end of the season the Canaries dropped to the Championship.
Despite being born in Frankfurt, Germany Timm Klose represents Switzerland on the international stage and it has to be noted that he made his full senior debut for the Swiss national team on August 10, 2011 in a 2-1 win over Liechtenstein. He represented Switzerland at the 2012 Olympics as well.
Highlighted Team (Qarabag):
Over the years Qarabag have established themselves as one of the best teams in Azerbaijan. The club was founded in 1951 and they were playing under the name of Mehsul back then. Qarabag won their first trophy in the national championship in 1993, beating Khazar Sumgayit in the title game.
In the 2015/2016 season they won their fourth domestic trophy, with the team finishing the season 22 points clear of second-placed Zira. Qarabag participated in the 2016/2017 Champions League qualifiers, but they were more than unfortunate to suffer a loss to Viktoria Plzen in the two-legged tie. The Azerbaijan outfit were beaten by the Czechs on away goal rule and, as a result, they made it to the Europa League playoffs.
Thanks to a win over Goteborg in the double-header Qarabag made it to the knockout stages of the competition. The Horsemen play their home games at Azersun Arena and their home colours are black. Qarabag play their away games in white kits.