It’s now or never for Fenerbahce SK, who were blanked by FC Krasnodar in their first leg match at the Europa Cup Round of 32 last Friday.
Despite having better ball possession in the match, the Navy Blue-Yellows failed to find the back of the net against the Russians. Perhaps the return of center back Martin Skrtel from his suspension will serve as a huge boost at preventing Krasnodar’s side from scoring on them again this Wednesday.
Unfortunately, the Turks are coming off a 0-0 draw in a Super Lig match against Kasimpassa over the weekend, having given them less time to rest compared to the one-week layoff for Krasnodar.
Nevertheless, Fenerbache should be able to make up for their road woes by hosting the second leg in Istanbul. They’ve won eight of their last nine home games in European competitions, which includes victories over notable clubs Manchester United and Monaco.
The 1-0 win over Fenerbahce last week came as a bit of a surprise for FC Krasnodar, who won their first match in Europa League play after going winless over their last four.
It turns out that the Black-Greens had some young stars on their lineup that appear bound to become future UEFA standouts. Swedish midfielder Viktor Claesson scored the only goal of last Friday’s contest in his team debut, and 22-year-old left back Cristian Ramirez also had a spectacular showing in his maiden appearance for Krasnodar as well.
However, many still consider last week’s victory as a flash in the pan for the Russians, as that match was only the fifth win of the team under head coach Igor Shalimov. Furthermore, when you take a look at Krasnodar’s record away from Russian soil, that’s where all their shortcomings come into focus. They’ve failed to tally a win in their last six away games overall, having scored just a total of two goals over their last four road matches at that.
Writer’s Prediction
Fenerbahce SK (-139) advances to the Round of 16 with a 2-0 victory.
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