Sports
Trabzonspor hope to leave Hearts broken in Conference League
Trabzonspor will look to extend their winning streak to five matches when they host Scottish side Hearts in the UEFA Conference League on Thursday, aiming to build on an impressive start to the league phase and strengthen their position in the competition.
The matchday two fixture will kick off at 7:45 p.m. local time at Papara Park.
Trabzonspor opened their European campaign with a 4-2 away victory over Finland’s KuPS Kuopio and will seek another three points in front of their home supporters.
Hearts, meanwhile, are looking to respond after surrendering a first-half lead in a 1-1 draw with Danish side Nordsjaelland in their opening match.
The Scottish visitors arrive in Türkiye following a heavy 7-1 defeat to Celtic, leaving them eager to restore their confidence against a Trabzonspor side that has found its scoring touch under new manager Thomas Reis.
Rhythm under Reis
Trabzonspor’s recent revival marks a sharp turnaround from a difficult opening to the 2026-27 season.
The Black Sea club struggled for consistency in their first seven competitive matches, recording just two victories before a series of disappointing results exposed their defensive weaknesses.
Their European campaign initially took a hit in the Europa League qualifying rounds, where they suffered a 5-0 aggregate defeat to Ferencvaros, including a 4-0 loss in the second leg. A subsequent 2-1 defeat to Amed Sportif Faaliyetler in the Turkish Süper Lig led to the departure of coach Fatih Tekke.
Hüseyin Çimşir took charge on an interim basis, recording one victory and one defeat before Reis was appointed permanently.
The new coach has since won all four of his competitive matches, overseeing a dramatic improvement in both attack and defense.
Trabzonspor have scored 13 goals and conceded only twice during that run, highlighted by a commanding 4-0 victory over Galatasaray and their 4-2 win against KuPS in the Conference League opener.
The Turkish side will look to maintain that momentum against Hearts, with Mohamed Salah emerging as a key attacking threat.
The winger has scored nine goals in 11 appearances since arriving in Türkiye, providing a consistent source of goals as Trabzonspor seek to make their mark in Europe.
However, Trabzonspor face several injury concerns. Arseniy Batagov, Paul Onuachu and young goalkeeper Onuralp Çevikkan are among those sidelined, while Okay Yokuşlu and Ruslan Malinovskyi are also unavailable.
Fabinho is expected to retain his place in midfield alongside Ozan Tufan, while Chibuike Nwaiwu and Stefan Savic could form the central defensive partnership.
Hearts seek response after Celtic humiliation
Hearts travel to Trabzonspor under pressure to recover from one of their most damaging results of the season, having conceded seven goals in a 7-1 defeat to Celtic at the weekend.
The Edinburgh club had shown greater defensive stability in the preceding matches, conceding just four goals across five games before their collapse against the Scottish champions. The defeat exposed significant problems at the back and left manager Wouter Vrancken with decisions to make ahead of the trip to Türkiye.
Despite that setback, Hearts had been building a respectable run of results after losing their first four matches of the season. Their record over the subsequent 14 games stood at seven wins, five draws and two defeats, suggesting the Celtic loss was a significant departure from their recent form.
Hearts also showed promise in their Conference League opener against Nordsjaelland. They took a 1-0 lead after a dominant first half but failed to maintain control, eventually conceding a late equalizer to Nicklas Rojkjaer.
The Scottish side will now seek their first victory in the league phase while attempting to end a three-match winless run away from home.
Injuries remain a concern for Vrancken, with Blair Spittal, Ageu, Tom Renaud and Craig Halkett unavailable. Following the heavy loss to Celtic, the coach could make several changes to his starting lineup, potentially giving Stuart Findlay, James Wilson and Tomas Magnusson opportunities to feature.
Trabzonspor’s return
Thursday’s encounter will be Trabzonspor’s 159th match in European competition and their 10th in the Conference League.
The Turkish club have recorded 57 wins, 39 draws and 62 defeats in their first 158 European matches, scoring 198 goals and conceding 216 since making their continental debut in the 1976-77 season.
Their European history includes 30 matches in the European Cup and UEFA Champions League, 99 in the UEFA Cup and Europa League, 12 in the Cup Winners’ Cup, eight in the Intertoto Cup and nine in the Conference League.
Trabzonspor have won two, drawn four and lost three of their nine Conference League matches, scoring 11 goals and conceding 14. A victory over Hearts would give them an opportunity to improve that record while strengthening their position in the league phase.
The fixture also marks Trabzonspor’s first meeting with Scottish opposition in 29 years. Their previous encounter came against Dundee United in the 1997-98 UEFA Cup, when they won the first leg 1-0 and drew the return match 1-1 to advance.
A European history
Trabzonspor’s continental history includes memorable victories over some of Europe’s biggest clubs.
They defeated Liverpool 1-0 during the 1976-77 season, beat Inter Milan by the same score in 1983-84 and overcame Barcelona 1-0 in 1990-91, with all three victories coming at Hüseyin Avni Aker Stadium.
The club repeated their success against Inter on the road on Sept. 14, 2011, winning 1-0 in the UEFA Champions League group stage.
Trabzonspor’s biggest European victory came in the 2007-08 Intertoto Cup, when they thrashed Albania’s Vllaznia 6-0 at home.
Their heaviest defeat, however, came against Barcelona in the 1990-91 Cup Winners’ Cup. After winning the first leg 1-0, Trabzonspor lost the return match 7-2 away from home.
Sergen Yalçın will officially begin his tenure as Türkiye national team head coach with a signing ceremony tomorrow after being appointed on a four-year contract to replace Vincenzo Montella following the team’s disappointing World Cup campaign and four consecutive UEFA Nations League defeats.
According to a statement from the Turkish Football Federation (TFF), the ceremony will take place at 2:00 p.m. local time Thursday at the Orhan Saka Conference Hall at the TFF’s Hasan Doğan National Teams Camp and Training Facilities in Riva. TFF President İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu is expected to attend.
The federation confirmed Yalçın’s appointment on Oct. 20 following a board meeting. The 53-year-old becomes the 48th head coach in the senior national team’s history and the 27th Turkish manager to hold the position. He is the first Turkish coach to lead the team since Abdullah Avcı’s departure in 2013.
Yalçın’s appointment follows Montella’s dismissal on Oct. 9 after Türkiye’s World Cup campaign ended in the group stage and the team lost its first four Nations League matches, including defeats against France, Belgium and Italy twice.
Montella, who took charge in September 2023, had overseen a period of considerable progress. Türkiye reached the quarterfinals of Euro 2024, qualified for the 2026 World Cup for the first time in 24 years and earned promotion to UEFA Nations League A. However, the subsequent run of defeats left the team bottom of its group without a point, prompting the federation to make a change.
Yalçın publicly confirmed his appointment on Tuesday, describing the opportunity to lead the national team as a source of pride. He said representing the country carried special meaning and that financial considerations were secondary to the importance of the role. He also indicated that his four-year deal was structured around the next European Championship and World Cup cycles.
Born in Istanbul on Nov. 5, 1972, Yalçın is a prominent figure in Turkish football. He developed in Beşiktaş’s youth system and later played for all four of the country’s traditional major clubs: Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray and Trabzonspor.
As a player, he won league titles and Turkish Cups and made 37 appearances for Türkiye between 1994 and 2003, scoring five goals. He also represented the country at Euro 1996 and Euro 2000.
Yalçın began his coaching career in 2013 and has managed several Süper Lig clubs, including Gaziantepspor, Sivasspor, Kayserispor, Eskişehirspor, Konyaspor, Alanyaspor, Yeni Malatyaspor, Antalyaspor and Beşiktaş.
His most successful spell came in the 2020-21 season, when he led Beşiktaş to the Süper Lig title and Turkish Cup, becoming the first person in the club’s history to win the league championship as both a player and a coach. He returned for a second spell at the Istanbul club in August 2025, but the tenure ended by mutual consent in May 2026.
Yalçın is expected to bring several members of his Beşiktaş coaching staff into the national team setup, including assistants Murat Kaytaz and Ozan Köprülü, alongside specialists in performance, analysis and goalkeeping.
The new coach has also indicated that he intends to speak with players who lost their places under Montella, including goalkeeper Berke Özer, as he evaluates his options and reshapes the squad.
Türkiye’s coaching history includes several managers who delivered landmark international achievements. Fatih Terim, who led the team across four spells between 1990 and 2017, holds the record for the most matches in charge with 135 and the most victories, with 70, including one awarded by forfeit.
Terim guided Türkiye to its first European Championship finals at Euro 1996 and the semifinals at Euro 2008. Mustafa Denizli led the team to the Euro 2000 quarterfinals, while Şenol Güneş took Türkiye to the 2002 World Cup, where it finished third, and the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup, where it also claimed third place.
Türkiye aims to qualify cyclists for both road and track events at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, with preparations gathering pace following a season of international competitions and medal-winning performances, Turkish Cycling Federation President Emin Müftüoğlu said.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Müftüoğlu said Türkiye had made progress in developing the sport, hosting major events and strengthening its international competitiveness.
The season began with the 2026 UEC Elite European Track Cycling Championships, held in February at the Konya Olympic Velodrome, marking the first time Türkiye had hosted the competition.
Müftüoğlu described the event as a milestone for Turkish cycling, highlighting the opportunities created by the country’s first velodrome.
Türkiye also hosted major events in Antalya, Alanya and the wider Mediterranean region to promote cycling tourism, while the Presidential Cycling Tour of Türkiye remained a key fixture on the international calendar.
Müftüoğlu said Turkish cyclists had also secured important international medals across several age categories, including the masters division, building on achievements among junior and under-23 athletes.
Olympic qualification a priority
The federation is now focused on securing Olympic places, with the qualification process for Los Angeles 2028 underway.
Müftüoğlu said Ramazan Yılmaz would represent Türkiye at the World Championships in China, an important step toward qualifying for the Games.
“We have completed the qualification requirements and will compete at the World Championships in China this week with Ramazan Yılmaz, at an event we have not been able to attend for a long time,” he said.
“The Olympic goal and the race for Olympic quotas begin with this World Championships. Competing in these championships is necessary to earn an Olympic quota, and we have completed the first stage.”
Türkiye hopes to return to Olympic track cycling after a lengthy absence, with Müftüoğlu saying preparations were proceeding according to plan.
“We want to achieve another important success by qualifying for the Olympics, hopefully becoming the first athlete and federation to do so after the qualification process following 1976,” he said.
Road cycling is also part of the strategy, with 2027 expected to be a crucial year for qualification.
“We are making a major effort to qualify for the Olympics in road cycling as well,” Müftüoğlu said, adding that the federation was excited by the prospect of competing in the velodrome at the Los Angeles Games for the first time.
Konya velodrome boosts ambitions
The Konya Olympic Velodrome has expanded training and competition opportunities for Turkish cyclists. Before its construction, athletes had to travel abroad for training camps and events because Türkiye lacked a velodrome.
Müftüoğlu thanked President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for supporting the facility and Youth and Sports Minister Osman Aşkın Bak for overseeing the federation’s work. He also highlighted Yılmaz’s historic medal at the European championships as a sign of progress.
The federation plans to build on these results by developing younger athletes and expanding its professional cycling structure. Müftüoğlu said four continental professional teams currently operate in Türkiye, adding that the federation wants to increase that number.
He also credited Konya Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Uğur İbrahim Altay with supporting cycling, noting that Yılmaz represents the municipality.
Presidential tour to finish in Ankara
The federation is also preparing the route for the 2027 Presidential Cycling Tour of Türkiye, which will finish in Ankara, Müftüoğlu confirmed.
“We have made considerable progress on the route, and we expect to announce it after completing the remaining details, probably within this month. But the finish will be in Ankara,” he said.
The race serves as a platform to promote Türkiye internationally and support the growth of cycling tourism. Müftüoğlu said the federation also wanted to make cycling more accessible to people of different ages and abilities through amateur events such as Gran Fondo races.
He identified Alanya, Antalya, Muğla and İzmir as important destinations for cycling tourism, pointing to infrastructure investment and opportunities to attract international visitors.
The federation is also working to develop cycling tourism through EuroVelo, the European network of long-distance cycling routes.
Müftüoğlu said Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy was supporting efforts to increase Türkiye’s share of the international cycling tourism market, alongside broader initiatives to expand sports tourism.
Mohamed Salah scored again as Trabzonspor beat Beşiktaş 2-0 in the Süper Lig, taking his tally to eight goals in the opening eight rounds and leaving him alone at the top of the league’s scoring charts.
The Egyptian forward has accounted for eight of Trabzonspor’s 18 goals in the league this season, establishing himself as the driving force behind the Black Sea club’s attack.
Salah has also scored in European competition, finding the net in Trabzonspor’s 4-2 victory over KuPS Kuopio in the UEFA Conference League.
Salah’s goal against Beşiktaş allowed him to finish the eighth round as the Süper Lig’s leading scorer, one goal ahead of three players tied for second place.
Başakşehir’s Eldor Shomurodov, Amed Sportif Faaliyetler’s Gift Orban and Fenerbahçe’s Vedat Muriqi have each scored seven goals.
Salah’s consistent scoring has helped Trabzonspor maintain a potent attack, with the Egyptian contributing nearly half of the team’s league goals through the first eight rounds.
Happy hunting ground
Seven of Salah’s eight league goals have come at home, where he has scored in all four of his appearances at Papara Park.
He opened his home scoring account with a hat trick against Galatasaray, added two goals against Başakşehir and scored once each against Gençlerbirliği and Beşiktaş.
His only league goal away from home came against Amed Sportif Faaliyetler, despite Trabzonspor losing that match 2-1.
Salah also scored on the road against KuPS Kuopio in the Conference League, extending his scoring contributions beyond domestic competition.
A prolific start
Salah made his Trabzonspor debut in the opening round against Kasımpaşa, coming off the bench in the 58th minute. He earned a starting place for the following match against Başakşehir and responded with two goals in a 2-1 victory.
He continued his scoring run against Amed Sportif Faaliyetler, although Trabzonspor suffered a 2-1 defeat, before converting a penalty in the team’s emphatic 5-0 win over Gençlerbirliği in the fourth round.
The Egyptian had scored four goals in the first five rounds before producing his standout performance against Galatasaray, when his hat trick took him to seven league goals.
His strike against Beşiktaş then brought him to eight, giving him sole possession of the scoring lead after eight rounds.
Galatasaray travel to France on Wednesday to seek their first points in the UEFA Champions League league phase as they face Lille at the Decathlon Arena, Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
The Turkish champions, who have lost their opening two matches, meet a Lille side in a similar position after defeats to Real Betis and Arsenal left the French club without a point. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. Türkiye time.
Galatasaray suffered a 3-1 defeat away to Sporting in their opening fixture before losing 4-1 at home to Barcelona.
Lille began their European campaign with a 3-2 home defeat to Real Betis and followed it with a 3-0 loss away to Arsenal.
Both sides will be eager to get their campaigns back on track, although their domestic performances suggest contrasting levels of confidence.
Galatasaray head into the match after a 1-0 Süper Lig victory over Gençlerbirliği, with Deniz Gül scoring in the 88th minute to keep Okan Buruk’s side top of the standings with 19 points.
Lille, meanwhile, drew 1-1 at home against Brest in their most recent Ligue 1 match. They have collected four wins, two draws and one defeat in seven league matches, leaving them fourth with 14 points.
Despite their encouraging domestic form, Lille have struggled in Europe. The French side have conceded in each of their last 10 Champions League matches and have lost their last three games in the competition.
A difficult French test
History offers little encouragement for Galatasaray ahead of their trip to northern France.
The Istanbul club have won only once in their last 11 away matches against French opposition and are winless in their last six visits, recording two draws and four defeats.
Their most recent away defeat in France came against Monaco last season, when they lost 1-0. Galatasaray last won on French soil on Sept. 26, 2001, beating Nantes 1-0.
Across 22 previous meetings with French clubs, Galatasaray have recorded seven wins, 10 defeats and five draws, scoring 23 goals and conceding 37.
The visitors have also lost their last five Champions League away matches, including defeats to Monaco, Manchester City, Liverpool, Juventus and Sporting. They will be looking to end that run and avoid opening a Champions League campaign with three consecutive defeats for the first time since the 1997-98 season.
Wednesday’s match will be the first competitive meeting between Galatasaray and Lille.
Lille have previously faced Turkish opposition in European competition, playing Fenerbahçe and Trabzonspor six times. They remain unbeaten in those encounters, with two wins and four draws. Their most recent meeting with a Turkish club ended in a 1-1 draw against Fenerbahçe on Aug. 13, 2024.
Osimhen and Leao face former club
Victor Osimhen will be one of Galatasaray’s key figures as he faces Lille, where he played during the 2019-20 season.
The Nigerian striker scored 18 goals in 38 appearances for the French club before moving on, and Wednesday’s fixture will give him his first opportunity to face his former side in a competitive match.
Osimhen’s return comes at a crucial time for Galatasaray, who need a positive European result after their difficult start to the league phase.
Portuguese forward Rafael Leão also previously played for Lille, featuring for the club during the 2018-19 season. However, he will miss Wednesday’s match after sustaining a groin injury in Galatasaray’s 1-0 victory over Gençlerbirliği.
Medical examinations revealed a mild-to-moderate strain in his groin muscle, ruling him out of the trip to France. His absence will deprive him of the chance to face his former club, where he scored eight goals in 26 appearances.
Ivory Coast international Wilfried Singo is another fitness concern for Buruk. The defender has returned to training with the team, but his availability will be determined closer to kickoff.
Kaan Ayhan, Arda Ünyay and Can Armando Güner are also unavailable because they were not included in Galatasaray’s registered Champions League squad.
Lille’s concerns
Lille will also be without several players as they attempt to secure their first points of the campaign.
Ethan Mbappé is suspended after receiving a straight red card for elbowing an opponent during the defeat to Real Betis. The disciplinary ruling resulted in a three-match ban.
Defender Tiago Santos will miss the game as he continues his recovery from a cruciate ligament injury.
Goalkeeper Berke Özer and Japanese forward Ayase Ueda are doubts after picking up injuries. Özer, who has made eight appearances this season across Ligue 1 and the Champions League, was absent from Lille’s latest league match against Brest.
The goalkeeper has kept four clean sheets and conceded 10 goals in those appearances. His availability could prove significant against a Galatasaray attack looking to rediscover its European scoring form.
If Özer is unavailable, Orlando Gill could have an opportunity to make his Champions League debut.
Lille’s defensive record will be another concern for coach Davide Ancelotti. The French side have conceded in each of their last 10 Champions League matches, a run that stretches back to their 1-0 victory over Real Madrid on Oct. 2, 2024.
During that period, Lille have recorded four wins, four defeats and two draws, but their inability to keep opponents off the scoresheet has continued to undermine their European performances.
Buruk’s European milestone
Wednesday’s match will be Okan Buruk’s 41st European fixture as Galatasaray coach.
The Turkish manager has overseen 40 matches in European competition, including Champions League qualifying rounds and league-phase fixtures, as well as Europa League games. His record stands at 15 wins, 16 defeats and nine draws.
Galatasaray will also make their 343rd appearance in European competition. They have won 121 of their previous 342 matches, lost 131 and drawn 90, scoring 470 goals and conceding 525.
Under the Champions League name, the club have played 136 matches, winning 34, losing 70 and drawing 32. They have scored 141 goals and conceded 237.
Before Sunday’s El Clasico against rival Real Madrid, Barcelona face an eagerly anticipated trip to Paris Saint-Germain Tuesday in the highlight match of the Champions League’s third round.
It’s a meeting of the current top two in the nascent league-phase standings and, for many, an early preview of what could easily be the lineup in the final, which is being staged in Madrid next June.
That would underline the definitive revival of Barcelona, which hasn’t been in the Champions League final since 2015 – when Luis Enrique, the current PSG coach, was at the helm and Messi was wreaking havoc in that prolific front line alongside Neymar and Luis Suarez.
More than a decade later, the names aren’t quite as stellar – not yet, anyway – but Lamine Yamal and Raphinha are fueling goal-fests every few days.
Barcelona have played 11 matches in all competitions this season, winning them all, and have scored 48 goals already. That’s more than 4.3 goals a game.
Can that continue against PSG, the defending two-time champion and the team that have set the standard in European football for the past two seasons?
PSG have found their groove in recent weeks, too, winning six games in a row including two straight in the Champions League – 6-1 at home to Slovan Bratislava and 4-2 at Manchester City last week. That makes them the top scorer in the competition, with one more goal than Barcelona after their 5-1 win over Feyenoord and 4-1 victory at Galatasaray.
A year ago, PSG came to Barcelona in the league phase without injured star forwards Ousmane Dembele, Désiré Doué and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and rallied to win 2-1, with Goncalo Ramos scoring a 90th-minute winner.
Revenge would be sweet for Barcelona in the ultimate test of their rejuvenation.
If PSG and Barcelona are currently the best two teams in Europe, Bayern Munich and Arsenal aren’t far behind.
They meet in Munich in another stellar matchup that pits another of Europe’s most devastating attacking units against the most well-organized defense on the continent.
Bayern, which have four points from a possible six in the Champions League so far, are coming off a 6-1 win over Leipzig in the Bundesliga that makes it 36 goals in 10 games this season.
Arsenal have yet to concede a goal after back-to-back wins in Europe and are tied for the best defensive record in the Premier League with five goals conceded in seven games.
Questions are being asked, though, about Arsenal’s attacking strength under Mikel Arteta, who said after last season’s penalty-shootout loss to PSG in the final that his team needed to show more ambition to “reach another level.”
At the moment, it looks like Arteta is back to relying on his mean defense to get results. On Wednesday, it will have to stop Harry Kane, the former Tottenham striker who has scored a competition-high 17 goals in the Champions League since the start of last season.
Don’t be surprised if Aston Villa tops the Champions League standings come the end of the third round of games.
The English club are one of nine teams on a maximum six points and are in third place, with the same +7 goal difference as PSG and Barcelona.
Villa have a kinder fixture, though, at home to Norwegian team Viking.
It’s a testament to the managerial skills of Unai Emery that Villa are riding high once again, having already won 3-2 at Club Brugge and thrashed Fenerbahçe 6-0.
Emery lost the spine of his team over the summer with the departures of Emi Martinez, Ezri Konsa, Youri Tielemans, Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins but has fashioned a new lineup, spearheaded by Nicolas Jackson and exciting Swiss midfielder Johan Manzambi.
Emery’s widely held status as, pound for pound, one of the best coaches in Europe is fully justified.
Manchester City might have to press pause on Erling Haaland’s stunning Champions League scoring exploits.
The striker, who has 61 goals in just 60 games in the competition, hobbled off the field after the 3-2 win over Ipswich in the Premier League on Saturday. That was his third straight game after a period of international duty with Norway that ended with Haaland asking to be substituted with fatigue.
A home match against AEK Athens seems the ideal opportunity for City manager Enzo Maresca to give his star player a rest.
Italy’s problems at international level – shockingly, the men’s team haven’t qualified for three straight World Cups – are well-known.
It’s not going great at club level, either.
Only one Italian team reached the Champions League round of 16 last season – and Atalanta got thumped 10-2 on aggregate by Bayern there – and the nation’s four representatives (Inter Milan, Napoli, Como and Roma) this season have lost six of their combined eight games so far. There’s been only one win, by Como.
Seeking to rebuild momentum following a painful European setback, Fenerbahçe host Czech champions Slavia Prague in Istanbul Tuesday evening in the third matchday of the UEFA Champions League league phase.
Both sides enter the clash searching for their first victory of the 2026-27 European campaign. Fenerbahçe hold one point from their opening two fixtures, having drawn 1-1 at home against Roma before suffering a heavy 6-0 defeat away to Aston Villa.
Slavia Prague remain without a point after dropping a 3-2 home decision to Lens and falling 2-0 on the road against Sabah.
The Turkish hosts are aiming to move past their setback at Villa Park, where Johan Manzambi opened the scoring before Nicolas Jackson and Ross Barkley each scored twice, with Tammy Abraham completing the victory.
Despite their European stumble, Fenerbahçe arrive in strong domestic form. Ismail Kartal’s squad is unbeaten in its last four Turkish Süper Lig matches, scoring 14 goals while keeping four consecutive clean sheets. The run includes 3-0 victories over Rizespor and Alanyaspor, an 8-0 win against Eyüpspor, and a goalless draw with Gaziantep.
“The Aston Villa match was a bad match for us,” Kartal said during Monday’s prematch press conference. “It is not a score line that the Fenerbahçe community, myself, or anyone can accept. We had missing players in that match; we identified those issues and reacted within two days.”
Slavia Prague present a familiar physical challenge for the Istanbul club. The Czech side won both legs of their 2021-22 UEFA Europa Conference League tie against the Yellow Canaries by matching 3-2 scores, though Fenerbahçe earned a 2-1 away victory over Slavia in the 2024-25 UEFA Europa League.
“They play physical football,” Kartal noted regarding Slavia Prague’s tactical approach under longtime manager Jindrich Trpisovsky.
“They are an opponent that plays man-to-man. No matter how they play, we will deploy our most dynamic players. We have three different tactical setups against this opponent, and we plan to implement them to approach tomorrow’s match in the best possible way. We are playing at home and trust our fans completely,” he added.
Kartal also highlighted the team’s manageability ahead of an upcoming league derby against Galatasaray, noting that tactical adjustments and rotations remain under evaluation.
“We look at it match by match,” Kartal said. “We will evaluate the condition of certain players. A player’s own psychological state is important. If there is fatigue, we respect each other. Whoever is in our Plan B, we prepare those players.”
The Fenerbahçe manager addressed individual squad conditions, specifically discussing Mason Greenwood, N’Golo Kante and Marco Asensio.
“Greenwood is a productive and high-quality player,” Kartal said. “He may have some defensive shortcomings, but he is doing his best to fix them. Our expectation from him is to demonstrate his attacking quality. He may play a different role tomorrow.”
Addressing physical concerns within the squad, Kartal added: “Before the Aston Villa match, both Asensio and Kante had knee pain. During the Aston Villa match, I asked Kante at half time if he could play, and he said, ‘If I play in this match, I might not be able to play for a longer period.’ He was still holding his knee during the Alanyaspor match. He still has pain. He is making sacrifices for the team and showing character.”
Fenerbahçe defender Nathan Ake, appearing alongside Kartal at the press conference, emphasized the physical demand required for Tuesday’s match.
“It will be a high-intensity match,” Ake said. “They are a team that plays man-to-man and plays attack-minded football. But we know what we need to do. There will be a great atmosphere in the stadium tomorrow. The fans helped us a lot in the first match. The Roma match was tough, and they helped us in difficult moments. I hope the same happens tomorrow and they help us get three points.”
Ake also discussed his chemistry in defense alongside goalkeeper Ederson and team captain Milan Skriniar.
“We get along better every day with Ederson and our team captain Milan Skriniar,” Ake said. “We spend time together off the pitch as well, which helps. I hope it continues. It has been an intense period so far with a lot of matches, but I like it. We do not get many training opportunities, but playing matches is what we want most, and I think everyone will be ready.”
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