Servette is about to experience her first post-Thomas Häberli match. In doubt, the garnet host FC Utrecht in the 3rd qualifying round of the Europa League Thursday in Geneva (8:30 p.m. on RTS 2 / RTSSPORT.CH).
Nothing has been going well in Servette since her 1st match of the season in Plzen, this 1-0 victory in the 2nd qualifying round of the Champions League which had suggested that the Swiss vice-champion was ultimately competitive after a disturbing preparation.
But the few hopes aroused by this solid success in Czech Republic quickly shattered: a sabotage in good standing in Bern against Young Boys at the opening of the Super League (3-1 defeat), then another in the return match against the Viktoria Plzen at home (3-1 defeat), before this slap suffered against Saint-Gall on Saturday in Geneva (4-1 defeat) to which Thomas Häberli did not survive.
2,000 Dutch supporters expected
It is therefore with a duo of temporary workers at the helm – the deputy coach Bojan Dimic and that of the attackers Alexandre Alphonse – that the SFC approaches this capital deadline. Donated to the 3rd qualifying round of the Europa League, the garnet challenges FC Utrecht, which easily took the measure of the Tiraspol Sheriff in the previous round (7-2 on the double confrontation).
The Dutch has been competing in European qualifications for the first time since 2019. The team trained by Ron Jans is on the ascending slope after having finished in fourth place in the last Eredivisie campaign.
The circumstances make the triple winner of the Netherlands Cup (1985, 2003, 2004) the favorite of this double confrontation, especially since nearly 2,000 Dutch fans are expected Thursday in La Praille. The Servettians will therefore need the support of their supporters in this complicated context, aggravated by the open conflict between two rival ultras groups which still came to hands on Saturday in the heart of Geneva.
European autumn not guaranteed
The garnet would be well inspired to rule out Utrecht at the end of this 3rd round whose return match is aged on Thursday August 14 in the Netherlands. They would thus play the Europa League dams and would be guaranteed to compete, at worst, the league phase of the Conference League.
But in the event of elimination, Servette would be donated to the C4 dam, where he would face the Greeks of Panathinaikos or the Ukrainians of Shakhtar Donetsk. The prospect of living a European fall would still be reduced a little more.
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