Preview: Lausanne Sport vs FC Winterthur - prediction, team news, lineups

Lausanne Sport will hope to begin their 2025-26 Swiss Super League season with a victory against visitors FC Winterthur on Sunday at Stade de la Tuiliere.

The hosts finished sixth in the regular season and fifth out of the six teams in the Championship playoff group, whereas Winterthur ended the regular season last in 12th place but avoided relegation by finishing fourth in their relegation playoff group.

Match preview

Lausanne’s final points tally of 53 meant they bettered their 2023-24 return by eight points, though they still ultimately finished 20 behind champions Basel.

Having scored 62 goals and conceded 54 times in 38 league matches, the club ranked as the division’s fourth-best offensive and fourth-best defensive side.

Manager Peter Zeidler has only been in charge for one game, overseeing a 2-1 loss against Vardar on Thursday in the first leg of their Conference League second round qualification tie.

The hosts struggled in the final stages of the 2024-25 season, failing to win their last four outings, though they only lost one of those matches.

While Lausanne ended their home campaign with a draw and a loss, they did win their prior three games at Stade de la Tuiliere.

Meanwhile, Winterthur’s points total of 40 in their relegation group was just one more than fifth-placed Grasshopper and Yverdon, the former of whom competed in a relegation playoff tie while the latter were automatically demoted to the second tier.

Boss Ulrich Forte’s side conceded 68 goals and scored just 43 times last term, the joint worst and joint second worst records in the division respectively.

The visitors’ recent record against their hosts is mixed, with Winterthur winning three of their past six encounters against the home team, suffering two defeats in that time.

Rot-Weiss are unbeaten in their six friendlies – emerging triumphant in four – and they did win six of their last nine league outings.

Winterthur lost their final away fixture of 2024-25 against Zurich in May, but they were victorious in their previous three on the road.

Lausanne Sport form (all competitions):

Team News

With Lausanne midfielder Alvyn Sanches ruled out due to a long-term knee injury, expect Papa Souleymane N'Diaye and Jamie Roche to feature.

In the backline, fans are likely to see a defence consisting of Kevin Mouanga, Noe Dussenne, Bryan Okoh and Morgan Poaty.

Zeidler could ask Olivier Custodio, Alban Ajdini and Gaoussou Diakite to support striker Mamadou Kaly Sene.

Winterthur winger Fabian Rohner is not with the travelling squad as a result of a concussion, so perhaps Elias Maluvunu and Nishan Burkart will flank Christian Gomis.

Luca Zuffi and Randy Schneider could appear in the middle of the pitch ahead of centre-backs Remo Arnold and Loic Luthi.

Lausanne Sport possible starting lineup:

Letica; Mouanga, Dussenne, Okoh, Poaty; N'Diaye, Roche; Custodio, Ajdini, Diakite; Sene

FC Winterthur possible starting lineup:

Kapino; Sidler, Arnold, Luthi, Ulrich; Zuffi, Schneider; Maluvunu, Giusto, Burkart; Gomis

We say: Lausanne Sport 1-2 FC Winterthur

Lausanne boss Zeidler is still settling into his role, and it could be some time before he can make a significant impact at the club.

Winterthur have managed to earn positive results against their hosts, and they ended last season in strong fashion, so perhaps they will claim all three points on Sunday.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.