After last week's six-goal first-leg thriller in Switzerland, Besiktas and Lugano square off at the Tupras Stadium in Istanbul for the second leg of their Europa League playoff tie on Thursday.
The winners of this two-legged tie will qualify to the newly-expanded 36-team Europa League, while the losers will drop down into the Europa Conference League.
Match preview
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After winning each of their opening three competitive games of the new season by an aggregate score of 11-2, Besiktas let a two-goal lead slip to draw 3-3 in an entertaining first-leg contest with Lugano last week.
Both sides entered half time with the scores level at 1-1 before the second half began in electric fashion, with three goals scored in the space of just six minutes. Gedson Fernandes netted his second goal of the match shortly before Al-Musrati gave Besiktas a two-goal cushion in the 55th minute.
However, Lugano immediately responded and pulled one back just seconds after the restart through Renato Steffen, before an own goal from Gabriel Paulista restored parity for the Swiss visitors just after the hour mark, keeping the tie nicely poised ahead of Thursday's second leg.
Besiktas boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst has suggested that a dry pitch prevented his team from implementing their desired gameplan and believes that a "different game" on a "better pitch" in front of their home supporters will be on show in the second leg.
The Black Eagles, who won the Turkish Cup last season and were also eliminated in the Conference League group stage, are bidding to qualify for the Europa League proper for the first time since 2019-20.
![Mattia Croci-Torti football coach of Lugano at the qualification match for the UEFA Europa League against Partizan at the Partizan stadium, Belgrade, on August 8, 2024 [on August 13, 2024]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/33/mattia-croci-torti.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Mattia Croci-Torti football coach of Lugano at the qualification match for the UEFA Europa League against Partizan at the Partizan stadium, Belgrade, on August 8, 2024 [on August 13, 2024]")
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Like Besiktas, Lugano were not in domestic action last weekend, so they will have had a full seven days to rest and prepare for Thursday's second leg in Istanbul.
The Bianconeri finished second in the Swiss Super League last season and began the 2024-25 campaign by winning five, drawing two and losing three of their first 10 competitive matches, failing to win any of their three matches in European qualifiers.
Indeed, Lugano have already suffered European heartache to Turkish opposition this season, as they were beaten 6-4 on aggregate to Fenerbahce in the Champions League second qualifying round at the end of last month.
Mattia Croci-Torti is tasked with steering his side to a memorable victory in Turkey, with his Lugano side seeking to progress to the main stage of the Europa League for just the third time in their history and for the first time in five years.
Team News
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Besiktas duo Emrecan Terzi and Arda Kilic remain sidelined with respective knee and ankle injuries, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Daniel Amartey, Oguzhan Akgun and Abdullah Aydin have all been omitted from the club's Europa League squad.
The Black Eagles announced the signing of Felix Uduokhai on loan from Augsburg on Tuesday, but it remains to be seen whether the 26-year-old defender will be available for selection on Thursday.
Van Bronckhorst is unlikely to make too many changes, if any, to his starting lineup, so the likes of Emirhan Topcu, Arthur Masuaku, Cher Ndour, Rafa Silva and Ciro Immobile are all set to retain their places in the first XI.
As for Lugano, they are able to welcome back Albian Hajdari, who was suspended for the first leg after being sent off in the previous round against Partizan, and he could replace Ayman El Wafi at centre-back.
Mattia Bottani featured as a second-half substitute in the first leg after recovering from a muscle injury, and the experienced midfielder could be considered for a start on Thursday.
Kacper Przybylko has scored five goals in 10 games so far this season, but he is yet to make the net ripple in Europe this term and faces competition from Shkelqim Vladi for a start up front.
Besiktas possible starting lineup:
Gunok; Svensson, Gabriel, Topcu, Masuaku; Ndour, Al-Msurati; Rashica, Fernandes, Rafa; Immobile
Lugano possible starting lineup:
Saipi; Zanotti, Papadopoulos, Hajdari, Valenzuela; Mahmoud, Doumbia, Bislimi; Steffen, Vladi, Aliseda
We say: Besiktas 2-1 Lugano (Besiktas to win 5-4 on aggregate)
Both sides have shown their attacking qualities and defensive weaknesses in recent weeks and another end-to-end contest could be in store on Thursday. Lugano will fancy their chances of pulling off an upset, but we are backing Besiktas to prevail on home soil.
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