On Thursday night, Slovacko and Fenerbahce go head-to-head in the second leg of the third qualifying round of the Europa League. The Turkish giants recorded a comfortable 3-0 win in the first leg and are hot favourites to progress in the competition.
The team from the Czech Republic really have been inconsistent of late. They have taken four points from their opening two games in the Czech Liga, with the first leg hammering sandwiched in between the two league matches.
🎥"V zápase jsme byli hladoví po výhře. Už od rozcvičky jsem cítil, že chceme zápas dotlačit k vítězství. Věřil jsem týmu, věřil jsem, že to tam spadne," prozradil Vlasta Daníček po utkání s Hradcem.#zaslovacko #slohkrhttps://t.co/LLceovWL9b— 1.FC Sʟᴏᴠᴀ́ᴄᴋᴏ (@1_FCS) August 8, 2022
🎥"V zápase jsme byli hladoví po výhře. Už od rozcvičky jsem cítil, že chceme zápas dotlačit k vítězství. Věřil jsem týmu, věřil jsem, že to tam spadne," prozradil Vlasta Daníček po utkání s Hradcem.#zaslovacko #slohkrhttps://t.co/LLceovWL9b
The first leg defeat saw Slovacko make their debut in the Europa League. In fact, the home team only made their real debut in European competition last season, when they suffered a 3-2 aggregate defeat in the second qualifying round of the Europa Conference League.
They had previously featured in the now defunct inter-toto in 2002, which was a route into the then UEFA Cup, but exited at the third round in a 3-0 aggregate defeat by Sochaux.
The Turkish giants certainly have far more European experience than their hosts, which showed in the tie's first leg. Last season, the visitors featured in this competition, finishing third in a group containing Eintracht Frankfurt, Antwerp and Olympiakos.
They also exited the Europa Conference League in the knockout round play-offs, suffering a 6-4 aggregate defeat at the hands of Slavia Prague.
Although they have a recent mixed record in the Europa League, Fenerbahce has suffered just one defeat in their last five matches in the competition. The Turkish team have also been hard to beat on home soil in the Europa League, having suffered just one defeat in their previous nine home games.
Forebet predicts that Fenerbahce will record a victory in a high-scoring encounter to progress to the play-off stages of the competition.