Basel and Steaua not settling for a point

Three points separate FC Basel 1893 and FC Steaua Bucureşti in UEFA Champions League Group E, but the sides are united by the thought that Wednesday's meeting in Switzerland is a must-win game. They drew 1-1 a fortnight ago and both coaches see plenty of room for improvement, the visitors' Laurenţiu Reghecampf highlighting attacking intent and ball retention and Basel's Murat Yakin calling for more poise in front of goal.

Basel
Murat Yakin, coach
We need to do better and do what we failed to do in Bucharest – to score. We want to win. We played well in Bucharest until the hour but didn't find the net and we hope to do better this time. We have been informed that Steaua have changed their tactics and we are prepared.

A draw is no good for either team. We both want to keep our Champions League hopes alive and both clubs have the quality to continue. Both teams need a win. There has been a lot of criticism of Basel lately but we are still in the Champions League, and in the Swiss league we are first, so I can imagine worse situations. The critics are looking from the outside in.

When our opponents have more possession, we tend to be well organised and focused, and we make the most of our opportunities. When we have a lot of possession, especially at home, we play much more defensively and we make it difficult for ourselves. This is what we have to change in our game, we have to correct this.

Weekend result
Saturday: FC Aarau 1-1 Basel (Hallenius 50; Streller 90+3)
Sommer; Voser (Pak 82), Ajeti, Ivanov, Xhaka; Frei, Salah, Elneny (Diaz 68), Serey Dié; Delgado (D Degen 69); Streller.

• Marco Streller's sixth top-flight goal of the campaign salvaged a point for Basel as they extended their unbeaten Super League run to nine games.

Team news
Valentin Stocker has shaken off the groin problem that forced him to join suspended duo Fabian Schär and Giovanni Sio on the sidelines at the weekend. Behrang Safari suffered a thigh injury on matchday three which may keep him out of the remainder of the group stage.

Steaua
Laurenţiu Reghecampf, coach
It is a very important match – we would like to win and we need to to stay in the Champions League. We saw in Bucharest that these are very difficult opponents – Basel played very well, they are a very strong team. We don't want to make the same mistakes we made in Bucharest. We will try to be more compact and attack more.

In previous seasons Steaua have played very well in the matches that really mattered, but the Champions League is a different level to the Europa League. Here the level is higher and the opponents are stronger, better organised. If we want to stay in the Champions League we have to invest more.

For us the national title is – like it is with Basel – very important and we would also like to win the cup. The Champions League is a bonus and we would like to advance beyond the group stage.

The Basel goal [in Bucharest] came from a defensive mistake. There is nothing we can do about that, but we also had very little possession so we have to try to keep the ball tomorrow, especially with Basel playing at home. We haven't lost yet in domestic competition and that shows we have good potential.

Weekend result
Saturday: ASC Corona Braşov 1-1 Steaua (Szukała og 15; Stanciu 70pen)
Tătăruşanu; Varela, Szukała (Stanciu 46), Gardoş; Chipciu, Filip, Bourceanu, Pîrvulescu; Tatu, Kapetanos (Nikolić 67), Tănase (Cristea 46).

• Leaders Steaua failed to win for the first time in seven Romanian First Division matches.

Team news
Mihai Pintilii has not played since matchday three because of a knock and Reghecampf says he is unlikely to start. However, after three games in ten days, the coach says he is poised to make a few changes to his starting XI.

Match fact
• This is the fourth successive season that Basel have been paired with Romanian opponents.