Turkish side Istanbul Basaksehir will be looking to record a second straight victory at the start of the Europa Conference League campaign this term. However, they will face a fight to achieve that, as Serie A giants Fiorentina are the visitors to Turkey this Thursday.
Europa Conference League Preview
It was an exciting start to the Europa Conference League last weekend, and two sides looking to build on reliable starts clash in Turkey this week. Istanbul Basaksehir were the only side to pick up a victory in the opening round of fixtures in Group A, while Fiorentina were held to a shock home draw against RFS.
Istanbul Basaksehir certainly hold the advantage in the race for qualification spots in this group courtesy of their opening night win, as they were extremely strong against Scottish side Hearts. The Turkish side were dominant on the road in that fixture, as they claimed a 4-0 success against Hearts. Hasan Ali Kaldirim opened the scoring after 26 minutes, before goals in the second half were added by Youssouf Ndayishimiye, Stefano Okaka and Berkay Ozcan.
Fiorentina are likely to still be the favourites to progress from this group, but they will need to perform much better than they did in the opening fixtures in Group A. The Italian giants were held to a shock 1-1 draw on opening night, with RFS snatching a point from the fixture in the final 15 minutes.
Fiorentina opened the scoring in that fixture ten minutes into the second half through Antonin Barak. However, they were made to pay for their missed opportunities. In total, the Italian side recorded 32 shots in that opening night fixture, but they hit the target on just nine occasions.
Istanbul Basaksehir vs Fiorentina Head to Head
This will be the first time that Fiorentina and Istanbul Basaksehir have ever clashed in a competitive fixture. The stakes will be big ahead of the return game between the sides in a few weeks time.
Istanbul Basaksehir vs Fiorentina Prediction
Cases can be made for both Fiorentina and Istanbul Basaksehir in this fixture this week. However, we like the chances of the Italian side registering a first victory in the Europa Conference League this term. They created more than enough chances in the match last week, and we expect them to be more clinical this week.
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