In crisis Besiktas host Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Europa League at Vodafone Park on Thursday night.
Both clubs lost on opening day in the Europa League and must pick up points on matchday 2 of the group stage to have hope of progressing to the next round.
Besiktas’ first-year manager Abdullah Avci has struggled to get results at the club. Besiktas are in the relegation zone in the Turkish Super Lig and are four matches without a win in all competitions.
The black and white lost at the weekend to rival Trabzonspor 4-1 in the Super Lig and will face league leaders Alanyaspor next weekend. Avci could rotate his squad on Thursday night to prepare for a relegation battle on the domestic front.
Wolverhampton Wanderers lost by a single goal to Braga in their first match of the Europa League group stage. It came during a terrible run of form but last weekend, Nuno Espirito Santo led Wolverhampton Wanderers to a vital six-point win over Watford.
The victory at Molineaux moved Wolverhampton Wanderers out of the Premier League relegation zone. They will expect to crack on in Turkey, but Vodafone Park is not an easy environment to go into.
Besiktas are said to be in crisis due to their league position. And Avci has also been claimed as not “understanding football”. The Besiktas president has already resigned from his post this season. The internal issues have all led to problems on the pitch with out of form players.
Wolverhampton Wanderers have one injury issue as Diogo Jota is suffering from an ankle knock. The forward could still feature for Wolves.
Santo’s main problem has been team fatigue. He will most likely rotate some of his players to keep everyone as fresh as possible. Wolves have already played 15 matches this season in all competitions. No other Premier League team has played as many.
Raul Jimenez has scored six goals in the Europa League but struggled to find the back of the net against Braga. Wolverhampton Wanderers had great goalscoring chances but their finishing was lacking. If Jimenez and Patrick Cutrone can finish their chances, they will get goals in Turkey.
Final session before the flight! 🛫🐺🇪🇺 pic.twitter.com/GqGIKLyWwV— Wolves (@Wolves) October 2, 2019
Final session before the flight! 🛫🐺🇪🇺 pic.twitter.com/GqGIKLyWwV
Besiktas’ struggles should continue once more in the Europa League when Wolverhampton Wanderers come to town. However, Wolves’ will find getting a win in Turkey to be difficult.
Matchday 2 in the Europa League will end in a stalemate for both teams and under 2.5 goals scored.