Preview:Fenerbahce vs Stuttgart – prediction, team news, lineups

Fenerbahce and Stuttgart will both be aiming to improve their chances of making the knockout stage when they clash at the Ulker Stadium Sukru Saracoglu on Thursday evening in the Europa League.

Both sides sit level on three points after two rounds, but while the Turkish side responded to an opening defeat with a win on matchday two, the German team suffered their first setback in the competition.

Match preview

Fenerbahce’s Europa League campaign began on a sour note with a 3-1 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb, sparking frustration among their fans and early pressure on new boss Domenico Tedesco.

However, the Yellow Canaries have since found their rhythm, going unbeaten in their last four matches (W3, D1), including a morale-boosting 2-1 win over Nice in their second group outing.

That European win has been part of a fine run at home, where Fenerbahce have now recorded three consecutive victories, the latest coming in the Super Lig against Fatih Karagumruk.

Their confidence will be further boosted by a strong continental record — just three defeats in their last 25 European fixtures (W17, D5) — though they will be wary of their struggles against German teams, with only one win in 13 attempts.

This will be the first-ever meeting between the two sides, and Fenerbahce will be hoping to put an end to their poor record against German opposition.

Stuttgart, meanwhile, are enjoying a strong domestic campaign and arrive in Istanbul on the back of five wins from their last six matches in all competitions (1L).

However, the sole defeat in that run came in the Europa League, where they stumbled to a 2-0 defeat away to Basel on matchday two after starting with a 2-1 victory over Celta Vigo.

The Reds will hope to recover immediately, but they visit a tough ground, and if anything, their away form has been mixed this season, alternating between wins and defeats in four trips across all competitions (2W, 2L).

They have been solid defensively in recent league outings, keeping consecutive clean sheets, but that resilience has rarely been seen in Europe, where they have managed just one clean sheet in their last 12 continental fixtures, and how well they limit the hosts will be key to whatever they can achieve here.

Fenerbahce Europa League form:

Fenerbahce form (all competitions):

Stuttgart Europa League form:

Stuttgart form (all competitions):

Team News

Fenerbahce will be without several key players for Thursday’s Europa League encounter, including Colombian striker John Duranwho remains out as he continues his recovery despite returning to light training last week.

Goalkeeper Ederson is also sidelined through injury, meaning Tarik Cetin is expected to retain his place between the sticks after recent outings.

Midfielder Because Hakan Yandas is another notable absentee, while Irfan Kahveci and Cenk Tosun have both been suspended from the squad for disciplinary reasons.

Emre Mor, Bartug Elmaz, Levent Mercan, and Rodrigo Becao were not registered for the competition’s league phase and are therefore unavailable.

On a brighter note, Anderson Talisca has been in superb European form, contributing to six goals in his last five Europa League starts — including an assist in the win over Nice — and will again be central to Fenerbahce’s attacking hopes.

Stuttgart, meanwhile, have injury concerns of their own, as goalkeepers Florian Hellstern and Stefan Drljaca remain sidelined, while wide men Justin Diehl and Jamie Leweling are also unavailable.

Forward Ermedin Demirovic is ruled out, and Deniz Undav has yet to feature in the competition this season due to fitness issues.

The visitors will look to Angelo Stiller for inspiration once again after his brilliant weekend performance, where he scored one and assisted two goals.

The midfielder also sits joint-top for chances created in this season’s Europa League (10) and will be key to Stuttgart’s hopes of securing a result in Istanbul.

Fenerbahce possible starting lineup:

Tough; Semedo, Oosterworlde, Soyuncu, Mercan; Alvarez, Yuksek; Doregeles, Asensio, Akturkoglu; Talisca

Stuttgart possible starting lineup:

Nubel; Hendriks, Jaquez, Chabot; Mittelstadt, Andres, Stiller, Assignon; Nartey, Tomas; El Khannouss

We say: Fenerbahce 2-2 Stuttgart

Both teams head into this clash with attacking confidence, and defensive inconsistencies on either side could make it an open contest filled with goals.

Fenerbahce have been strong at home in Europe, yet Stuttgart’s form and creativity mean they are capable of matching the hosts, which is why we expect a high-scoring draw.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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