Conference League round of 16, second leg, Thursday, 14.03.2024
That was clear! Fenerbahce still seem determined to make a splash this season, and not just domestically. In our UEFA Conference League tips, it’s fair to say without too much optimism that the team already has one foot in the next round.
Of course, the Canaries still have to be focused in the second leg, supported by the bookies’ favorites. In my Fenerbahce Royale Union betting tip, I’ll tell you why I’m going for a more offensive bet and why I can recommend the over 2.5 goals
Possession, shots on goal, tackles? Almost even. Corners? 12:0. final score: 0:3! The Royale Union looked at the scoreboard in disbelief last Thursday, this was not at all how they had imagined the home game against Fenerbahce.
They had won at home against Liverpool in the Europa League, and the fans had only suffered one defeat in all competitions. And yet, the team now has to deal with precisely this result.
It was an open game with chances on both sides until the closing stages, before the final minutes brought a counter-attack and a penalty for the visitors from Istanbul
So it was definitely unfortunate, this defeat, but unfortunately it doesn’t help the Belgians either. They will have to have an absolute cream day in Istanbul and score three goals while keeping a clean sheet.
But how is that supposed to work when the club’s strengths are actually to be found in their own stadium? Well, it actually worked out in the intermediate round, with a 2:1 win in Frankfurt (previously 2:2 in the first leg)
In the group stage of the Europa League, however, the opponents were Linz, Liverpool and Toulouse, and not a single goal was scored, just one point. Such a 0-0 draw would naturally lead to a quick elimination on Thursday.
The Union are six points clear at the top in Belgium, having only lost twice. The result against Fenerbahce was all the more surprising for me, especially in its clarity
Just a year ago, they made it to the quarter-finals before Bayer Leverkusen were too big a team. It’s not really surprising that our bookmakers are not particularly keen on them advancing.
An outright win averages 3.80 (Fenerbahce is 1.90 here), but of course you know that wouldn’t be enough. At Betano, a value of 16.0 impressively shows how unlikely it is that the team will make it past the round of 16
Of course, Fenerbahce shouldn’t get too excited, but wasn’t the draw half the battle anyway? There have been nine encounters against Belgian teams so far, only one of which has been lost.
The current runners-up in the Süper Lig know that we could do the double! In the league, as the betting fans have already discussed enough, there is a fierce duel with Galatasaray for the title, all other competitors have long been distanced
After a somewhat more defensive phase – the Canaries had only scored three goals in the league once since mid-January – they recently beat Pendikspor 4-1, so there was finally some joy in the form of many, many goals.
In theory, there shouldn’t have been any on Thursday, but of course that’s not how they want to present themselves to their own fans. The games in the Conference League were anything but boring, even for the neutral spectator.
3:1 and 1:6 against Nordsjaelland, 2:1 and 4:0 against Spartak Trnava, 3:1 and 0:2 against Ludogorets, the group stage went back and forth. So Fener can celebrate their own resounding victories, but sometimes they also get off on the wrong foot completely
It can be assumed that the handbrake will be applied a little on Thursday, as the important match against Adana in the Süper Lig is on the agenda immediately afterwards and nothing can be given away in the duel with Gala.
Rade Krunic is suspended with a yellow card anyway, and they will certainly not take any risks with Joshua King, Rodrigo Becao and Leonardo Bonucci, the injured players. Former Freiburg player Caglar Söyünyü is injured anyway.
Speaking of Freiburg: The team from Baden also face a tough second leg against West Ham this Thursday. I’ll tell you how I rate Germany’s chances exclusively in my West Ham Freiburg tip!
Can anything really happen after a 3-0 win when the second leg is played in front of your own fans? It’s incredibly difficult to say just how motivated Fenerbahce will be going into Thursday’s clash against the Royale Union.
The Canaries can afford to lose with a two-goal deficit, but the visitors will probably try everything they can to turn the result around, which will require a quick 1-0 win.
Since the Turks are going for spectacle in Europe, I’ve decided to take a bit of an offensive risk and say:
The 2.5 goals will be scored!
