Fenerbahce vs Olympiacos

Fenerbahce and Olympiacos are set to lock horns in the return leg of their handsomely-looking Europa Conference League quarter-final tie at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, with the visitors 3-2 up.

Fenerbahce seemed on the verge of a catastrophe in Greece last week, finding themselves 3-0 down at the hour mark before pulling two goals back to claw their way back into this tie. Keen to turn this tie on its head and, in turn, secure a place in a European semi-final for the first time in 11 years, the Yellow Canaries can fall back on their impressive run of 11 wins from their last 13 home outings in continental action (D1, L1). However, there’s no room for complacency, especially amidst a defensive crisis that has seen Ismail Kartal’s side fail to keep a clean sheet across their last seven home outings in all competitions, not to mention falling behind five times in this stretch. On the upside, Fenerbahce’s free-firing frontlines have netted 2+ goals in seven of their last nine home outings.

Visiting Olympiacos must recover from the shock of conceding two late goals in the first leg of their first European quarter-final appearance since 1998/99. Despite never progressing beyond this stage in the club’s history, Olympiacos can draw confidence from beating Turkish rivals in seven of their last 12 matches (D2, L3), increasing the likelihood of achieving an unprecedented feat in this tie. Another quick-fire start would extend a helping hand to the Greek outfit, and they’re more than capable of doing that, having got on the scoresheet inside in the opening 30 minutes in seven of their last eight games. But defensive frailties have plagued Olympiacos lately, with just two clean sheets from their ten most recent outings.