The hot questions about the start of the Challenge League: Who will be promoted? Who has to go down? What is Aarau doing?

class=”sc-cffd1e67-0 iQNQmc”>

Zion and Thun are up quickly. The two clubs will hardly give up first and second place (13 points ahead of third place). But who will take the immediate promotion spot? And who should be in the barrage? The people of Zion have small advantages. They are well rehearsed and have a lot of Super League experience. And they haven’t lost in ten league games yet! Patron Christian Constantin will do everything he can to have his team play in the House of Lords again as soon as possible.

In addition, Sion’s rival from the Bernese Oberland is busy with construction sites outside the field. Thun is struggling with financial problems that are causing uncertainty at the Stockhorn Arena. After all: the residents of Thun have the newly elected Challenge League player of the year with Daniel Dos Santos (21). It looks like Thun can keep his gem until the summer. And: coach Mauro Lustrinelli’s team has never lost to Sion this season (one win, one draw). It is quite possible that the direct encounters will ultimately decide first or second place.

The non-professionals from the Esp stadium fight for every point. And they surprised us a few times in the first half of the season. The newcomer is not the expected cannon fodder, on the contrary. Coach Michael Winsauer and ex-Aarau coach Stephan Keller (advisor) squeeze everything out of the amateur team. Lavdim Zumberi (24, ex-FCZ junior) brought Super and Challenge League experience to the second half of the season.

And then there is Marvin Spielmann (27, two-time champion with YB). The ex-Badener recently trained with Esp. He would also be a reinforcement for FC Baden. One thing is clear: it will be exciting for FC Baden. And if in the end it is not enough to stay in the competition despite a lot of passion, the team from Baden can still go into the Promotion League with its head held high.

The residents of Aarau remain a surprise package. The last victory in the competition was a long time ago (November 3, 5-2 win against Thun). And it is unlikely that this winter break’s test matches have boosted FCA’s confidence. There was a win against FC Basel (3:2), but then there were clear defeats against the FCZ youth team (2:4) and FC Luzern (60 minutes, 0:4).

Now there are three difficult matches for the Aarau team to start: First comes FC Vaduz, then Aarau has to go to Baden for the hot derby, then the away match at Leider Sion follows. And after the match in the tourbillon it should also be clear in which direction the FCA trajectory with coach Alex Frei will go: up or down.

One thing is clear: Frei and the team are still on a journey of discovery. If they don’t find each other as soon as possible, Alex Frei will hardly be in charge for much longer.

This winter, the Schaffhausen team made their ambitions clear. They want to leave the table cellar as quickly as possible. Admir Mehmedi has taken over the position of sports director. Eren Derdiyok is the new assistant coach. And the former Nati stars are getting serious: with Christian Wimmer, an interesting coach was brought from Germany, who could one day gain experience at Bundesliga clubs.

And the team is also being tinkered with: veteran Raul Bobadilla (36) returns. Ermir Lenjani (34) also brings a lot of experience to the Munotstadt. And in midfield, ex-YB star Sékou Sanogo (34) will show what a tough goalscorer he is. The fact is: the new FC Schaffhausen will show a different face than in the first half of the season.

Source : Blick