Grasshopper will host Young Boys at the Letzigrund Stadion in a Swiss Super League matchday 22 fixture on Sunday.
The home side secured maximum points in a 2-0 away victory over Lausanne last weekend. Nigerian striker Francis Momoh scored a brace to help the visitors leave Lausanne with all three points.
Young Boys were equally triumphant in a morale-boosting 3-1 victory over rivals Basel. Vincent Sierro, Nicolas Ngameleu and Jordan Siebatcheu all found the back of the net in the victory for the Bern outfit.
The defending champions have not been up-to-par in their title defense and currently sit in second spot, 10 points behind leaders FC Zurich. Newly-promoted Grasshopper are further below in sixth place, having garnered 26 points from 21 matches so far.
Grasshopper vs Young Boys Head-to-Head
This will be the 78th meeting between the two sides. Young Boys have been victorious on 35 occasions in the past, while 17 games ended in a stalemate. Sunday's visitors have 25 wins to their name.
Their most recent competitive meeting came in November 2021. Siebatcheu scored an injury-time equalizer to cancel out Allan Arigoni's opening goal for the Grasshoppers. Young Boys secured a 5-2 victory in a friendly fixture played in mid-January.
Grasshopper form guide: W-L-L-D-D
Young Boys form guide: W-D-W-W-D
Grasshopper vs Young Boys Team News
Grasshopper
Petar Pusic has been ruled out with an injury, while Sang-bin Jung and Ayumu Seko are unavailable due to personal reasons.
Injury: Petar Pusic
Unavailable: Ayumu Seko, Sang-bin Jung
Suspension: None
Young Boys
The visiting side have several fitness issues to worry about. Christian Fassnacht, Nico Maier, Meschak Elia, Leandro Zbinden, Fabian Lustenberger, David von Ballmoos and Esteban Petignat are all unavailable due to injuries.
Furthermore, Joel Monteiro and Khonde Mambimbi are doubts for the game while Ulisses Garcia is suspended following his red card against Basel.
Injuries: Christian Fassnacht, Nico Maier, Meschak Elia, Leandro Zbinden, Fabian Lustenberger, David von Ballmoos, Esteban Petignat
Suspension: Ulisses Garcia
Doubtful: Joel Monteiro, Khonde Mambimbi
Grasshopper vs Young Boys Predicted XI
Grasshopper Predicted XI (3-4-3): Andre Moreira (GK); Noah Loosli, Georg Margreitter, Allan Arigoni; Dominik Schmid, Christian Herc, Bruno Jordao, Bendenguz Bolla; Hayao Kawabe, Francis Momoh, Mamadou Sene
Young Boys Predicted XI (4-4-2): Anthony Racioppi (GK); Jordan Lefort, Sandro Lauper, Lewin Blum, Quentin Maceiras; Miralem Sulejmani, Vincent Sierro, Fabian Rieder, Nicolas Ngameleu; Jordan Siebatcheu, Wilfried Kanga
Grasshopper vs Young Boys Prediction
Young Boys are favorites in the game and their victory over Basel could serve as a boost for the rest of their season. Their title defense has been less than stellar but they are still within touching distance of FC Zurich.
Grasshopper could do enough to find the back of the net but we are backing the visitors to emerge triumphant.
Prediction: Grasshopper 1-3 Young Boys