By the fifth round of Champions League fixtures, neither Basel nor Cluj would have considered themselves in with a significant shot of progression to the last 16, yet a win on Tuesday evening for either of these sides would keep the door to the knock-out rounds open at least until the final game.
Basel are playing for their European lives, stationed at the foot of the table having suffered a damaging loss in Romania on the opening day of action. The Swiss side’s group stage campaign got off to a nightmare start in Transylvania as they fell two goals down in the opening 15 minutes and could not recover, despite a tally from Valentin Stocker.
That opening match would have been considered a ‘must-win’ in the RotBlau camp, but unexpected ground was made up in Rome. A stirring performance from the Swiss side allied with an under par showing from the Italians resulted in an unexpected 3-1 success, though the Lupi’s 3-2 win in Basel three weeks ago leaves Thorsten Fink’s side teetering.
Defeat on Tuesday night will leave Basel eliminated. Both Cluj and Roma will be out of reach due to superior head-to-head records, rendering their final encounter against Bayern Munich little more than an exhibition. Victory, however, could potentially open the door to the knock-out stages, though Basel’s recent form has been unimpressive, progressing in their domestic cup competition at the weekend only on penalty kicks against second tier side Servette.
Clinging On
For Cluj, the stakes are high. Victory on Tuesday evening would leave them going into the final round of fixtures with their destiny in their own hands, no matter what happens between Bayern Munich and Roma. Yet, the Romanians have managed to sneak into this position despite losing three successive matches.
Their importance of their victory over Basel in Matchday 1 is not incredibly apparent. Twice they have succumbed to the charms of Bayern Munich, including a 4-0 mauling at home three weeks ago, and they have also lost to Roma.
But it’s not just been in Europe that Sorin Cartu’s club has struggled. Though a tally of 23 league points in 16 matches has been garnered, this represents their worst start to a season since 2004, and over the course of their last 24 matches in all competitions, nine have been lost – hardly a record befitting champions.
At the weekend, the Feroviarii were again left frustrated. A goal from Roberto De Zerbi after just 26 seconds gave them the quickest lead in the Romanian top flight this season, but it was squandered when Eric Pereira of Gaz Metan Medias was allowed to level barely 10 minutes later. There would be no further scoring.
It’s something of a miracle that Cluj are still quite so competitive in this group, but they’ll certainly try to make the most of their good fortune on Tuesday night.
TEAM NEWS
Basel
After being dropped to the bench at the weekend, Alexander Frei should be given a starring role in attack for Thorsten Fink’s side.
Genseric Kusunga is not expected to play due to a tendon problem but Cameroon international Jacques Zoua made his first appearance in over two months at the weekend.
Marco Streller, who is out until 2011 due to injury in any case, and Valentin Stocker are both suspended.
Cluj
Yssouf Kone won’t be involved as he is a long-term absentee having endured knee ligament damage early in the campaign. Gabriel Muresan has a leg injury that has afflicted him for the last two months.
Prediction
Basel will want to pick up at least one point in front of their home fans in this campaign, but without Streller and Stocker it will be a difficult ask. There is certainly plenty of quality in their side and on paper they should be superior to their guests, but a tight encounter is likely.
Basel 2-0 CFR Cluj 
