Europa League, Qualification, 2nd Round, Second Leg, Thursday, 07/31/2025, 8:00 p.m.
Is it starting again already? Besiktas fans had hoped that the 2025/26 season would finally herald an upturn. But even before the new Süper Lig season has kicked off, there is already trouble brewing in Istanbul.
In the Europa League qualifiers, everything looks set for an early exit. So I’m now turning my attention to my Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Besiktas tip and telling you why I don’t think the hosts’ unbeaten run against Turkish clubs will come to an end.
A new dawn for Besiktas? After the first game of the season, it’s already over! The Black Eagles were unlucky to draw an immensely difficult opponent for the second round of Europa League qualifying: Shakhtar Donetsk.
In the first leg, the top Turkish club did not put in a disastrous performance, but their defensive display was simply not good enough. They conceded two goals in each half – Shakhtar scored four goals from five shots on target!
After the 2-4 defeat, good advice was hard to come by. The friendly matches that Besiktas had played in recent weeks had already pointed to some defensive problems. A 1-2 defeat to Petrzalka, a 2-3 defeat to Wolfsberg, and a 1-1 draw with Admira Wacker – a clean sheet was nowhere to be found.
The Eagles’ €5 million investment in center back Felix Uduokhai (who was previously on loan) has yet to pay off. Coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who has been in charge since January, is likely aware of the powder keg that is Besiktas.
Without home advantage, his players will have to cope in Krakow on Thursday. Not only do they need a win, but they need to win by at least two goals to make it to extra time.
Accordingly, the brave tipsters among you should bet on an away win with a 0-1 handicap. Anyone who wants to do just that at Betano will be rewarded with an absolutely fantastic odds of 6.60.
The odds are even higher if you say that Besiktas will advance. That makes sense, since they need a home win and then another goal in extra time or a successful penalty shootout.
If the Turks throw in the towel in this second qualifying round, which looks likely, it would be the earliest exit in the history of the Europa League qualifiers.
I still owe you the odds for the match against Donetsk, so let’s quickly check with our bookmakers. On average, the odds are 2.00 for Shakhtar and 3.15 for Besiktas.
No matter how I look at it, it would be a huge surprise if we were to witness Turkish celebrations after the second leg.
At Shakhtar Donetsk, however, they know that the second leg cannot be taken lightly. The Ukrainians have made it through the Champions League group stage year after year.
Since the 2010/11 season, there has only been one round in which they failed to achieve this feat. This time, qualifying started in the first round, simply because the 2024/25 season was so weak.
Accordingly, the preliminary round began with two matches against Ilves. After a 6-0 win in the first leg, the players were able to take it easy in the second game, with a 0-0 draw sealing the deal.
6-0 and 4-2 – the two matches in the qualifying competition that really mattered went exactly as planned, and the ten goals scored are more than impressive.
Coach Arda Turan is naturally delighted that his new team is on the verge of knocking Besiktas out – after all, he spent many years with arch-rivals Galatasaray.
Is Besiktas already out of the Europa League before the competition has even started? It certainly looks that way, because not many clubs can come back from a 2-4 deficit against Shakhtar Donetsk.
The Black Eagles are struggling with major defensive problems, which became clear during the preseason. Added to that is the fact that Donetsk has never lost to a Turkish team, despite having played ten matches against them.
So, I’m pretty sure I’ll go for the “Double Chance 1X” bet. I’ll also throw in an offensive tip that has to do with both the Turkish defense and the Ukrainian offense. So, my bet is:
Donetsk won’t lose with over 2.5 goals!
