Champions League 2025-26: Basel-Copenhagen, the likely lineups

The final round of the Champions League playoffs is being played between Tuesday and Wednesday, and among the matches on the calendar is Basel-Copenhagen, scheduled for 9 p.m. today at St. Jakob-Park in the German Swiss city. Up for grabs is a place in the group stage, which will start in mid-September.

Basel is back to dream of Champions League access after seven years. The red and blue, fresh winners of the Swiss championship for the 21st time, have been missing the main stage since 2018, when they stopped in the round of 16. Last season marked a rebirth: no cups, but a league won with merit, which gave the club direct access to the last preliminary round. This season in the Super League, Shaqiri and his teammates have won both home games but struggled away.

On the other side is Copenhagen, champions of Denmark with a one-point lead over Midtjylland. Due to ranking, it had to start its European journey two rounds earlier: first it eliminated Drita (2-0 at home, 1-0 in Kosovo), then it sent Malmoe home with a clear 5-0 win at Parken Stadium after a 0-0 first leg.

They are the first to be eliminated.

Probable lineups

Basel (4-2-3-1): Hitz; Tsunemoto, Adjetey, Vouilloz, Schmid; Metinho, Leroy; Traoré, Shaqiri, Otele; Ajeti. All. Ludovic Magnin

Copenhagen (4-4-1-1): Kotarski; Huescas, Gabriel Pereira, Hatzidiakos, Meling; Garananga, Lerager, Matsson, Robert; Elyounossi; Moukoko. All. Jacob Neestrup