Istanbul Basaksehir face a tough test as they welcome Manchester United to the Istanbul Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadium in 2020-21 UEFA Champions League.
Victory could lift Basaksehir off the foot of Group H whilst Man Utd will remain top of the group with a win.
Team News
Azubuike Okechukwu is a doubt for Basaksehir as he continues to recover from a lengthy knee injury.
Nacer Chadli and Junior Caicara are not expected to feature due to unspecified injuries.
Man Utd will again be without Eric Bailey (muscle), Phil Jones (knee), Alex Telles (Coronavirus) and Jesse Lingard (hip) as Anthony Martial returns due to his suspension only applying to domestic competitions.
Stat Attack
- This is Istanbul Basaksehir’s first-ever meeting against Manchester United in all competitions.
- Basaksehir have avoided defeat in just one of two previous matches against English opposition, losing 1-0 to Burnley on aggregate in 2018-19 Europa League Third Qualifying Round (D1, L1).
- Man Utd have lost three of their last five away matches to Turkish opposition (W2, L3).
Prediction
Basaksehir come into this match in poor form but I have to say that they didn’t play too badly against PSG within solid zonal marking although a lack of closing down spaces proved to be their downfall, on top of sloppy play in the final third when on the attack.
Man Utd meanwhile impressed in a dominant home win over RB Leipzig yet failed to produce much against Arsenal on Sunday whilst Paul Pogba didn’t really offer anything remotely decent in midfield, so I expect they will be happy to hit the road again where they seem to perform better than at Old Trafford.
This however should be a tight encounter if Basaksehir can show more attacking intent when get into the box whilst tightening up their defensive pressure when out of possession, although I reckon that United should have enough to take a comfortable win if they can make their superior quality count like they’ve often done away from home this season.
Prediction: Istanbul Basaksehir 0-2 Manchester United
Result: Istanbul Basaksehir 2-1 Manchester United
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