Basel vs Nice facts

Eliminated by French opposition from last season's UEFA Europa Conference League, Basel will hope for better fortune as they seek to reach the 2022/23 semi-finals at the expense of Nice, Ligue 1's last team standing across the three UEFA club competitions this term.

Basel were denied top spot in Group H by Slovan Bratislava on head-to-head record during the autumn but, with coach Alexander Frei subsequently replaced by technical director Heiko Vogel, they went on to eliminate the Slovakian champions 4-1 on penalties in the round of 16 after two 2-2 draws following a knockout play-off success against Turkish title holders Trabzonspor (0-1 a, 2-0 h).

Nice finished above Partizan in UEFA Europa Conference League Group D on head-to-head record to secure direct access to the round of 16, though the French side's final tally of nine points was the lowest of all eight section winners. They then comfortably accounted for Moldovan champions Sheriff, winning both legs (1-0 a, 3-1 h).

Previous meetings

The clubs have never previously met in UEFA competition. This is also Nice's first encounter with a Swiss club.

Basel's record against French opponents is W4 D4 L8, all four victories having come in Switzerland, though they lost the most recent home fixture, beaten 2-1 by Marseille to complete a 4-2 aggregate defeat in last season's UEFA Europa Conference League round of 16 tie. In two-legged contests with French teams Basel's record is now W3 L2, the most recent victory on away goals against Saint-Étienne in the 2015/16 UEFA Europa League round of 32 (2-3 a, 2-1 h).

Form guide

Basel

Runners-up in the 2021/22 Swiss Super League, 12 points behind champions FC Zürich, Basel also had a lengthy run in the UEFA Europa Conference League last season, progressing from the second qualifying round to the round of 16, where, having topped their group to bypass the knockout play-offs, they fell to Marseille.

This season, newly led by former Switzerland striker Frei, Basel booked a return ticket to the UEFA Europa Conference League group stage by successfully coming through three qualifying ties for the second successive campaign, Crusaders, Brøndby – on penalties – and CSKA-Sofia all being defeated as the Swiss side secured an 18th European group campaign. They made it through their section for the 12th time – and fourth in a row – by taking six points off Pyunik (3-1 h, 2-1 a), four off Žalgiris Vilnius (1-0 a, 2-2 h) and one off Slovan (0-2 h, 3-3 a) to finish second. Then came the knockout phase wins against Trabzonspor and Slovan that have earned the club a sixth appearance in a major European quarter-final.

Basel have lost four of those previous five last-eight ties, most recently going down 4-1 to Shakhtar Donetsk in a single-leg tie in Gelsenkirchen, Germany in the 2019/20 UEFA Europa League. Their only success at this stage was on penalties against Tottenham Hotspur in the 2012/13 UEFA Europa League, the Swiss side prevailing 4-1 on spot kicks after two 2-2 draws – precisely as they did against Slovan in the last round.

Basel's Matchday 3 defeat by Slovan was one of only three in their last 22 European matches at St. Jakob-Park (W17 D2). Their home record in all rounds of the UEFA Europa Conference League is now W11 D2 L2, the first loss sustained in last season's round of 16 against Marseille.

Nice

Nice finished fifth under head coach Christophe Galtier in Ligue 1 last season, when they also lost the final of the Coupe de France, 1-0 to Nantes, to book a place as France's representatives in the UEFA Europa Conference League. Les Aiglons were absent from Europe in 2021/22.

This season, with Galtier departed for Paris Saint-Germain and Swiss coach Lucien Favre back at the club he served from 2016 to 2018, Nice edged through their UEFA Europa Conference League qualifying play-off against Maccabi Tel-Aviv (0-1 a, 2-0 h aet) before doing likewise to top their group, winning just two of their six matches – 1-0 away to Slovácko and 2-1 at home to Partizan – to squeeze through to the round of 16. Favre was dismissed in January and replaced on an interim basis until the end of the season by reserve team coach Didier Digard, who oversaw the round of 16 victory against Sheriff.

This is Nice's first experience of a major European quarter-final in 63 years. They lost both of their two previous last-eight ties to eventual winners Real Madrid in the European Cup, going down 6-2 on aggregate in 1956/57 (0-3 a, 2-3 h) and 6-3 over the two legs in 1959/60 (3-2 h, 0-4 a).

Nice's win at Sheriff is one of just three in their last 15 European away fixtures (D3 L9), although they are unbeaten in the last four, having also drawn 1-1 at Partizan and, to clinch first place, 2-2 at Köln in their UEFA Europa Conference League group.

Links and trivia 

Basel's Nice-born defender Andy Pelmard and Switzerland international Dan Ndoye both joined Basel from Les Aiglons last summer after spending 2021/22 on loan at St. Jakob-Park.

Other members of Basel's squad to have played in France are Jean-Kévin Augustin (Paris Saint-Germain 2015–17, Monaco 2019/20 loan, Nantes 2020–22), Andy Diouf (Rennes 2018–22) and Hugo Vogel (Lyon 2020–22). All three are French nationals.

Nice's Jordan Lotomba is a Swiss defender who has played in his homeland for Lausanne (2016/17) and Young Boys (2017–20), winning the Swiss Super League in each of his three seasons with the Berne club.

Lotomba is a Switzerland national team-mate of Basel's Andi Zeqiri and Zeki Amdouni.

This is Basel's 31st match in all rounds of the UEFA Europa Conference League – a competition record.

Basel are one of three clubs, along with AZ Alkmaar and Gent, who were eliminated in last season's UEFA Europa Conference League round of 16 but have made it through to the quarter-finals this term. None of the 2021/22 quarter-finalists are involved again this season.

Basel and Nice are the lone remaining representatives from their respective countries in European club competition this season.

Nice are one of three UEFA Europa Conference League group winners to have reached the last eight, together with AZ and West Ham.

Basel drew 1-1 at Zürich on Saturday in the Swiss Super League – four days after going down 2-4 at home to league leaders Young Boys in the semi-finals of the domestic cup. They have won just one of their last seven matches (D4 L2).

Nice, who sit ninth in Ligue 1, lost 0-2 at home to league leaders Paris on Saturday – a result that ended the Côte d'Azur club's 14-match unbeaten run across all competitions (W8 D6).

The winners of this tie will face Lech Poznań or Fiorentina in the semi-final.