Sporty Bilbao will travel to Turkey for Wednesday’s meeting Fenerbahçe on the sixth matchday Europa League League phase.

It’s the Turkish giants currently in 15th placewhile Athletic are at the top alongside Lazio and Eintracht Frankfurt.

Game preview

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Fenerbahce recorded mixed results in the first phase of the league: of the first five games they won two, drew two and lost one.

Jose MourinhoThe Barcelona team started with a 2-1 home win over Union SG before going winless in three European games, with consecutive draws against Twente and Manchester United, followed by a 1-3 away defeat against Dutch club AZ Alkmaar.

After two points from three games, Fenerbahce would have been relieved to get back to winning ways on matchday five Edin Dzeko And Youssef En-Nesyri got on the scoresheet in a 2-1 win over Slavia Prague, giving the Turkish side a three-point lead in 25th place.

Fenerbahce will look to achieve more positive results in their final three league stage games against Athletic, Lyon and Midtjylland as they look to reach the knockout stages of UEFA competition for the third consecutive year.

Unfortunately for Mourinho, his team will enter the competition on the back of a disappointing 1-0 derby defeat against Besiktas on Wednesday, which leaves them six points behind leaders Galatasaray in the fight for the Turkish Süper Lig title.

After the away defeat at the weekend, the Yellow Canaries are looking forward to returning to the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, where they have won four of their last five home games in all competitions.

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Athletic are taking part in European competition for the first time since 2017/18 after finishing fifth in La Liga last season.

Los Leones have never won a European cup, but they hope that will change in the 2024-25 season, with the Europa League final set to take place in their atmospheric home of San Mames in May 2025.

Ernesto ValverdeThe Barcelona team got off to an impressive start en route to reaching the home final, dropping just two points from their first five Europa League games.

After a 1-1 draw with Roma, Los Leones defeated AZ Alkmaar, Slavia Prague and Ludogorets before prevailing 3-0 thanks to goals from Elfsborg Adama Boiro, Benat Prados And Gorka Guruzeta.

As a result of these victories, Athletic are in second place, three points clear of ninth place. This puts them in a good position to advance directly to the round of 16 ahead of the last three league phase games against Fenerbahce, Besiktas and Viktoria Plzen.

The Basque side will be aware of the difficult task that awaits them on Wednesday, but they will travel to Turkey confident after beating Real Madrid and Villarreal last week to make it five wins in a row in a run of eleven unbeaten games in all competitions (W8, D3).

Fenerbahce Europa League form:

Fenerbahce form (all competitions):

Athletic Bilbao Europa League form:

Athletic Bilbao form (all competitions):

Team news

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Fenerbahce will have to do without the injured duo Mert Hakan Yandas And Jayden Oosterwoldewhile Fred is suspended for one game due to an accumulation of yellow cards.

Ismail Yuksek is poised to replace Fred in midfield, although there may be starting opportunities for that Bright Osayi Samuel, Sebastian Szymanski and En-Nesyri.

Caglar Soyuncu could return to the squad after a four-game injury layoff and there is a possibility he could move straight into the backline for Wednesday’s game.

In the meantime, Other Herrera is Athletic’s only known absentee, with the midfielder expected to miss a third game in a row with a hamstring injury.

Unai Simon He made his long-awaited return from injury in Athletic’s recent European Cup game against Elfsborg and, after being on the bench for the last three league games, the Euro 2024 winners are expected to return to the side for Wednesday’s away trip.

Nico Williams is expected to return to the lineup after being on the bench in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Villarreal, and there could be starting spots for him too Andoni Gorosabel, Mikel Jauregizar and Boiro.

Possible Fenerbahce starting lineup:
Livakovic; Osay-Samuel, Djiku, Soyuncu, Muldur; Yuksek, Amrabat; Tadic, Szymanski, Saint Maximin; En-Nesyri

Possible Athletic Bilbao starting lineup:
Simon; Gorosabel, Vivian, Yeray, Boiro; Jauregizar, Ruiz de Galarreta; I. Williams, Sancet, N. Williams; Guruzeta

We say: Fenerbahce 1-1 Athletic Bilbao

Having won four of their last five home games, Fenerbahce will be looking to take full advantage of their home advantage in Wednesday’s game, but we think they may have to settle for a share of the spoils as Athletic are proving to be a difficult side to hit in lately.

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