FC Winterthur

Boss Rahmen departed for Young Boys Bern pre-season with his former assistant Ognjen Zarić set to take the reins from him this season. It's not expected to make a great deal of difference, however. It's a very exciting time to be at FC Winterthur, who prioritise playing excellent attacking football over everything else. They've had an excellent summer transfer window and look set to continue the good work started by Rahmen in the 23/24 season. Losing Gantenbein was a big blow but after the season he had, it was inevitable. He won't be as missed as he could have been, though. As a RB, there was nobody better but he was pushed forward as a winger toward the end of last season, and they have a lot of options in that area of the pitch, enough so for them to barely notice when they sold Ballet last season. They've done a lot of good business on that front for the season ahead too with exciting attackers like Krasniqi, Gomis, and Maluvunu joining, not to mention rapid Rohner from FC Zurich. They're thoroughly prepared, even in the event that they have to sell Di Giusto (which is likely), and thus even Ltaief's departure should not be evident. The problems they had during the last few months of last season stemmed from not having enough CDMs available due to injuries suffered by Jankewitz, Zuffi, and Araz respectively. That won't be an issue this season as they're fit now. Jankewitz has returned to Young Boys Bern for now but with Durrer's loan move made permanent, it should not be an issue. The problem area for FC Winterthur will be keeping teams out. Wonderkid goalkeeper Keller returned to Young Boys Bern following the completion of his loan spell, and key defender Lekaj isn't getting any younger. Young defender Luthi has started to play well so that problem could solve itself. They've opted for a former FC Basel goalkeeper to replace Keller in Spagnoli, although it's unclear if he'll start ahead of veteran Kuster. They're yet to be convinced by Sidler at RB and there's no real understudy for him at the present with Goncalves and Gantenbein having moved on. Other than that, FC Winterthur should be set to excite fans, play attacking football, and score goals. There's no pressure on them, it's a good group of hard-working individuals, and they don't fear anybody so they should have a good campaign assuming Zuffi performs to the levels he did last season.