Fenerbahce – Nordsjaelland

Europa Conference League Group Stage Round 1

Istanbul, September 21, 18:45 CET

Potentially the most attractive duel of the first round of the UEFA Europa Conference League Group Stage on Thursday will be the match between Fenerbahce and Nordsjaelland in Istanbul.
Since July 15, Fenerbahce, the Turkish giant, has achieved 11 consecutive victories! The rich club from Istanbul scored as many as 30 goals in that period. Bringing in the famous Bosnian striker Edin Dzeko proved to be an exceptional move by the ambitious club. Last weekend, in a 3:2 victory over Antalyasport in the Turkish Super League, Dzeko was the scorer. This team has the maximum score after four rounds in the domestic Super League.
Also, in the qualification for the Europa Conference League, Fenerbahce achieved a maximum score of six victories. In three European matches at home, the Istanbul team scored 13 goals, which is a sign not only of efficiency, but also of the clear intentions of the squad that plays offensively, uncompromisingly in front of its fans.
Behind the Danish vice-champions Nordsjaelland is a difficult match against the biggest rival FC Copenhagen, 2:2 at home on Saturday in the Danish Superliga derby. This team played impressively in the qualification for the Europa Conference League, beating Partizan in Belgrade 1:0 on the last day of August, and before that they drew against the famous Romanian club Steaua, also away from home.
Since the beginning of the season at the end of July, Nordsjaelland has only one defeat, against the very good Silkeborg team in the domestic league 2:0 away from home (match played on August 20). Overall, this is a team that is recognized as offensively oriented. In the last six away games, four times Nordsjaelland managed to score at least a goal - and there is a good probability that it will be the same in this game.
Since the guests have nothing to lose and will certainly not defend themselves, an entertaining match is expected, with at least a goal in the first half. On the other hand, in the last four matches played at home, the Fenerbahce team scored 18 goals! All the prerequisites are there to expect an extremely effective game again.
Fenerbahce has concerns when it comes to injuries - the outstanding Turkish technician and attacker Mor, as well as the Brazilian Lincoln, are already out of action. The question is whether a very important player, midfielder Cengiz Under, will be able to play. On the other hand, Nordsjaelland is counting on a complete team - and the only question is whether thay have enough freshness, after the difficult derby against FC Copenhagen.
Istanbul club managed to win 14 and drew just three of their last 18 European home games. Of course, they are the favorites even now, but Nordsjaelland is a team that has proven that they can play exceptional attacking football against such quality opponents. This will be their first duel in history, and there is a good chance that the match will be really spectacular and exciting.