Stadium
St Jakob-Park is the home of City’s opponents and with a capacity of 38,512, it is the largest football stadium in Switzerland.
Opened in March 2001, Basel’s home ground hosted three matches in the 2008 European Championships and the 2016 Europa League final.
Manager
Former Swiss international, Raphael Wicky, was appointed Head Coach in the summer.
A defensive midfielder in his playing days, Wicky turned out 75 times for Switzerland and played his club football at Sion, Werder Bremen, Hamburg and Atletico Madrid.
He took charge of the first team having previously been U18 and U21 boss.
Group stage performance
Basel finished second in Group A behind Manchester United, winning four and losing two of their six games.
At home, they beat Benfica 5-0, United 1-0 but lost 2-1 to CSKA Moscow 2-1.
Champions League history
This is the third time Basel have made the last 16 of the competition, having qualified for the group stage eight times since the competition was revamped in 1992.
They reached the quarter-final of the European Cup in 1973/74, which remains their best performance in the continent’s top tournament.
Domestic pedigree
With 20 league titles to their name, Basel are the second most successful club in Switzerland.
Eight of those championships have been won consecutively over the last eight seasons, while they also have 12 Swiss Cups in their trophy haul.
Last season they lifted the league and cup double.
Current form
After 18 games Basel sit second in the league with ten wins, five draws and three defeats on their record.
Top scorer
Twenty-year-old Albian Ajeti, a product of the club’s academy, has struck eight times in eight league games and has been ably supported by former Norwich City striker, Ricky van Wolfswinkel who hes netted seven goals in nine games.
City links
Maurizo Gaudino, who spent a season on loan at City in the 90s, also enjoyed a one season stay at Basel, netting 10 times in 30 appearances.
Previous meetings
This is the first time the two sides have met in a competitive fixture.
Basel have, however, faced several of City’s Premier League rivals in previous European campaigns and have claimed notable scalps against Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs to add to their 1-0 victory over United in this year’s group stage.
