Fenerbahce hold a healthy lead as they travel to FC Twente for their UEFA Europa Conference League playoff second leg. The Turkish side already showed their attacking prowess in the first meeting and with Twente often prolific at home, another open encounter could be on the cards.
It was a disappointing outing for Twente in the first meeting as they were hammered 5-1 in Turkey. They took an early lead through Manfred Ugalde but ultimately suffered a defensive capitulation, especially after Youri Regeer got sent off.
While it was undoubtedly a poor performance from Twente, manager Joseph Oosting will consider the red card a telling factor in the result. They had been unbeaten across all competitions this season and had won four straight matches prior to that defeat in Turkey.
Twente have also impressed at home this season, winning all three of their matches at De Grolsch Veste across all competitions. They have scored six goals in that run, although their desperation to overturn such a huge deficit could leave them exposed at the back.
Fenerbahce will be fully relaxed in Thursday’s fixture as they hold a healthy 5-1 lead from the first leg. They duly took advantage of Twente’s red card with Irfan Kahveci netting a brace while Jayden Oosterwolde, Sebastian Szymanski and Dusan Tadic were also on target.
Although the red card was a factor, the result is consistent with Fenerbahce’s showings this season. They have won their last eight matches across all competitions, scoring at least two goals in seven of those victories.
Fenerbahce have also impressed on their recent travels and head into Thursday’s clash off the back of four straight away wins. Ismail Kartal’s men have also win their last two matches in the Conference League, scoring seven goals across both fixtures.
How the bookies view it
FC Twente have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 23/20 by William Hill to claim the win. A victory for Fenerbahce is valued at 21/10 by BoyleSports while a draw is set at odds of 3/1 by Betfred.
Head to head
Twente and Fenerbahce have two wins each from four previous meetings. However, prior to last week’s first leg, the last meeting between both sides was a friendly in 2011 which ended.4-3 in favour of the Dutch side.
Players to watch
Manfred Ugalde struck Twente’s only goal in the first leg and could be the one to watch on Thursday. The attacker is priced at 21/10 by William Hill to get on the score sheet once again.
Edin Dzeko featured off the bench for Fenerbahce in the first meeting and could be handed a start on Thursday. The striker has three goals in his last four matches across all competitions and is priced at 21/10 by William Hill to find the net.
Anything else catch the eye?
Twente and Fenerbahce have plenty of attacking quality and could be set right serve up another high-scoring encounter on Thursday. There were over 4.5 goals in the first meeting and a repeat is priced at 31/10 by BetVictor while over 3.5 goals is valued at 11/8 by William Hill.
There were first half goals for both teams in the previous meeting and with another open encounter expected, Thursday’s clash can be tipped to follow a similar pattern at 11/4 with bet365.
This UEFA Europa League Conference match between FC Twente and Fenerbahce will be played on Aug 31, 2023 and kick off at 18:00. Check below for our tipsters best FC Twente vs Fenerbahce prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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