Young Boys vs Slovan Bratislava prediction, H2H and probable lineups — 28 August 2025
On August 28, 2025, the second leg of the Europa League qualification final round will feature a clash between Young Boys and Slovan Bratislava. Kick-off is scheduled for 20:00 Central European Time. Let's take a closer look at the teams' attacking potential for this encounter.
Young Boys
Last season, Young Boys fell short of claiming a third consecutive Swiss Super League title, losing out to Basel. This year, the team represents Switzerland in the Europa League. The "yellow and black" have had a shaky start to the season: after a home win over Servette, they drew twice and suffered a heavy 1-4 defeat to Basel. Currently, Young Boys sit sixth in the league table.
Meanwhile, the team performed confidently in the Swiss Cup, where they cruised past Courtételle 4-1 in the opening round. In the first leg against Slovan, the Swiss side struck early in the 15th minute and then largely played on the counter, holding onto their narrow lead until the final whistle.
Both teams featured in the Champions League group stage last season: Young Boys finished bottom of their group, while Slovan ended up second from last, with neither side earning a single point. In their head-to-head history, the Swiss have the upper hand: of five meetings, Young Boys have won three and drawn two, with three of those matches seeing over 3.5 total goals — a testament to their attacking prowess.
Slovan Bratislava
Slovan Bratislava once again cemented their status as the dominant force in Slovak football, capturing their seventh consecutive league title and earning the right to start in the Champions League qualifiers. Their European campaign began strongly: in the first round, they demolished Bosnia's Zrinjski 4-0 away and comfortably saw out a 2-2 draw at home to advance.
In the second round, they faced Kazakhstan's Kairat. Despite a 1-2 loss in the first leg, Slovan remained favourites and confirmed it at home with a 1-0 victory. However, a penalty shootout proved their undoing, and the Slovak champions dropped into the Europa League. After losing the first match against Young Boys, Slovan played out a 1-1 draw with Michalovce in the league. At present, they sit only fifth in the domestic standings.
One persistent issue for Slovan has been their away form. In their last four games on the road, they failed to secure a single win — drawing three times and losing once. Their record in Switzerland is also poor: both away games against Young Boys ended in defeat — 0-5 in 2014 and 2-3 in 2021.
Probable lineups
- Young Boys: Keller, Hadjam, Benito, Zukru, Janko, Gigovic, Fernandes, Raveloson, Males, Monteiro, Bedia.
- Slovan Bratislava: Takac, Bajric, Kashia, Wimmer, Blackman, Ignatenko, Pokorny, Cruz, Ibrahim, Barseghyan, Strelec.
Key facts and head-to-head
- Young Boys are unbeaten in 5 of their last 6 matches.
- Slovan Bratislava have avoided defeat in 8 of their last 10 matches.
- Young Boys have won 4 of the last 5 head-to-head encounters.
- 3 of the last 5 head-to-head matches have featured over 3.5 goals.
- The first match between these teams ended with a 1-0 win for Young Boys.
Prediction for Young Boys vs Slovan Bratislava
After losing in Switzerland, Slovan have nothing left to lose — they need to open up and push forward if they want to stage a comeback and keep their qualification hopes alive. However, history is on Young Boys' side: the Swiss have never lost to this opponent and have consistently produced strong results in these matchups. Moreover, several of their recent meetings have been high-scoring affairs. Given that Slovan will have to attack, while Young Boys are adept at exploiting open spaces and countering, this clash could turn into a goal fest. My bet for this match: over 2.5 total goals at odds of 1.64.
