Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce travel to the Netherlands to take on AZ Alkmaar in their fourth fixture of the 2024-25 Europa League on Thursday night.
The two teams meet for the first time since the 2006-07 campaign when Fenerbahce were eliminated in the last 32 of the UEFA Cup via the away goals rule, after drawing 5-5 on aggregate (3-3 at home and 2-2 away).
Match preview
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Since beating Elfsborg 3-2 on home soil in their opening Europa League fixture at the end of September, AZ Alkmaar have endured a significant dip in form, losing six and drawing one of their last seven games in all competitions.
The Cheese Heads have suffered 2-0 and 1-0 away defeats to Athletic Bilbao and Tottenham Hotspur respectively in the Europa League during this run, while they were beaten 3-2 away against Feyenoord in the Eredivisie last weekend.
With pressure beginning to mount on the shoulders of head coach Maarten Martens, AZ have slipped to sixth in the Eredivisie standings, already eight points behind the top three after 11 games, while they are languishing in 24th spot in the 36-team Europa League table, four points behind the top eight.
In desperate need of a morale-boosting victory, AZ may welcome an encounter with Fenerbahce on Thursday, as they have won three and drawn three of their last six meetings with Turkish opposition, most recently beating Istanbul Basaksehir home and away in 2015-16 Europa League qualifying.
AZ scored at least two goals in five of those six matches with Turkish sides, and they have also netted in each of their last 12 home fixtures across all competitions, scoring at least twice on nine occasions, so they should be confident of at least breaching Fenerbahce's backline on Thursday.
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In stark contrast to AZ, Fenerbahce have put together a seven-game unbeaten run across all competitions (W4 D3), while they are also yet to lose in the Europa League this term, picking up five points from their opening three fixtures.
The Yellow Canaries beat Union SG 2-1 on home soil on matchday one and have since followed that up with back-to-back 1-1 draws with FC Twente and Manchester United, coming from behind at half time in both games to salvage a point.
Fenerbahce sit 14th in the 36-team Europa League table and only two points behind the top eight, while they have also climbed up to third in the Turkish Super Lig standings courtesy of successive wins over Bodrum FK and Trabzonspor, beating the latter 3-2 away from home last weekend.
Mourinho could not contain his emotions when Sofyan Amrabat netting a 102nd-minute winner, and after the match the Portuguese boss labelled the referee "a little boy" and stated that the Super Lig "smells bad" during a bizarre post-match press conference.
Fenerbahce will now shift their focus back to the Europa League and will endeavour to extend their unbeaten run in the Europa League group stage (and now league phase) to 11 matches when they face AZ of Thursday. The Yellow Canaries have also lost just one of their last 13 away games in all competitions.
Team News
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AZ Alkmaar are set to be without Zico Buurmeester, Ibrahim Sadiq, Sem Westerveld, Wouter Goes and Ruben van Bommel due to injury, while Kristijan Belic, Bruno Martins Indi, Lewis Schouten and Lequincio Zeefuik will all be assessed ahead of kickoff.
David Wolfe was sent off for two bookable offenses in the defeat at Spurs and will subsequently serve a one-match ban on Thursday. His absence could see Mees de Wit deputise at left-back, joining Alexandre Penetra, Maxim Dekker and Seiya Maikuma in a four-man defence.
Troy Parrott, who briefly worked under Mourinho during his time at Tottenham, is AZ's top scorer this season with eight goals in 14 appearances, and he is expected to start up front, with Ernest Poku and Mayckel Lahdo the most likely duo to provide support from out wide.
As for Fenerbahce, Jayden Oosterwolde (ACL) and Cengiz Under (groin) both remain sidelined with injuries, while Filip Kostic, Oguz Aydin, Bartug Elmaz and Levent Mercan have all been left out of the club's Europa League squad.
Mourinho may consider recalling defender Rodrigo Becao at the expense of either Caglar Soyuncu or Alexander Djiku, while a midfield triumvirate of Amrabat, Fred and Sebastian Szymanski is set to remain intact.
Youssef En-Nesyri, who is expected to get the nod to start up front ahead of Edin Dzeko, scored his 17th goal in his 42nd appearance in European competition against Man United last time out, and he is now the joint-highest Moroccan goalscorer in Europe along with Marouane Chamakh and Ayoub El Kaabi.
AZ Alkmaar possible starting lineup:
Owusu-Oduro; Maikuma, Dekker, Penetra, De Wit; Clasie, P. Koopmeiners; Lahdo, Mijnans, Poku; Parrott
Fenerbahce possible starting lineup:
Livakovic; Osayi-Samuel, Soyuncu, Djiku, Muldur; Amrabat, Fred; Tadic, Szymanski, Saint-Maximin; En-Nesyri
We say: AZ Alkmaar 1-2 Fenerbahce
These two teams enter Thursday's match in contrasting form and the momentum is certainly with Fenerbahce, who will be regarded as favourites to come out on top in this one.
Although AZ will back themselves to score for the 13th successive home match, Mourinho is expected to field a strong side and we can see the Yellow Canaries outscoring their Dutch opponents at AFAS Stadion.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
