Feyenoord and Fenerbahce will face off in the third round of Champions League qualifiers at De Kuip on Wednesday night.
The Rotterdam outfit will be looking to replicate their success in last season's competition, reaching the round of 16 where they lost to eventual runners-up Inter Milan.
That was the highlight of what was an otherwise underwhelming campaign on the domestic front, placing a distant third behind PSV and Ajax in the Dutch Eredivisie.
Robin van Persie was handed the reins in February of this year and he has been busy reshaping his squad over the summer, most notably bringing in Sem Steijn from FC Twente.
As for Fenerbahce, they will be looking to reach the league phase of the competition after falling at the third round hurdle against Lille 12 months ago.
Manager Jose Mourinho has made a number of eye-catching signings over the close season, including former Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran.
How the bookies view it: Feyenoord to draw first blood
The bookies expect Feyenoord to claim a first-leg advantage on Wednesday night, with a home win odds-on at 20/23 with Boylesports.
Fenerbahce are 21/10 outsiders with Boylesports while an all square affair at De Kuip is an unfancied 11/4 with the same firm. Alternatively, the Turkish heavyweights can be backed on the Double Chance at an eye-catching 4/5 with Boylesports.
Head to head: Duo evenly-matched
Feyenoord and Fenerbahce will come up against each other for just the sixth time on Wednesday night. The previous five meetings have seen the pair each pick up two wins apiece while the other encounter ended 3-3.
Players to watch: Duran on song?
The aforementioned Jhon Duran is expected to spearhead Fenerbahce’s attack on Wednesday night. The Colombian powerhouse looks like an attractive option to get on the scoresheet in this week’s first leg at 7/4 on Boylesports.
New Feyenoord forward Sem Steijn was the leading goalscorer in last season’s Eredivisie, hitting 27 goals for FC Twente. Thus, the 23-year-old looks well worthy of consideration for an anytime strike here at 13/10 on Boylesports.
Predicted line-ups
Gaoussou Diarra, Jordan Bos and Sem Steijn could all be handed their competitive debuts for Feyenoord on Wednesday night while captain Quinten Timber is back in contention following a spell on the sidelines.
Fenerbahce manager Mourinho will be unable to call upon the injured trio of Anderson Talisca, Mert Hakan Yandas and Rodrigo Becao.
Feyenoord: Wellenreuther; Lotomba, Plug, Watanabe, Bos; Timber, Hwang; Hadj-Moussa, Steijn, Diarra; Ueda
Fenerbahce: Egribayat; Muldur, Soyuncu, Oosterwolde; Semedo, Fred, Amrabat, Brown; Kahveci, Szymanski; Duran
Anything else catch the eye?
Bundling up Fenerbahce with a +1 handicap start and to score at least one goal looks well worthy of support at 10/11 on William Hill.
While Feyenoord exceeded expectations in Europe last season, they did fail to keep a clean sheet in 10 of their 12 Champions League outings.
Thus, the hosts could struggle to silence a Fenerbahce side that scored a minimum of one goal in 10 of their 12 continental contests last term.
GambleAware