Wolverhampton Wanderers make the trip to Turkey to face Besiktas having started their Europa League group-stages campaign with a 1-0 defeat at home to Braga.

Besiktas had look on course to earn a share of the spoils against Slovan Bratislava, only to concede two last-gasp goals to lose 4-2 in Slovakia.

Match preview

Since overcoming Torino to earn their place in the main stage of the competition, it is fair to say that Wolves have not enjoyed the best run of form, with just one win coming from their last half-a-dozen outings.

However, Saturday's 2-0 triumph over Watford in the Premier League, which followed netting a 95th-minute leveller at Crystal Palace a week earlier, have proven enough to take Wolves out of the relegation zone.

Those two results have at least provided Nuno Espirito Santo's team with some momentum ahead of a tough week, with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium to follow the demanding visit to Turkey.

Nevertheless, there is little doubt that the showdown with Besiktas will get Nuno and his squad's full focus, especially after the disappointment of losing at home to Braga.

The West Midlands outfit are eager to progress as far as possible in this competition, but they will have to find a way to gain a result on territory which has traditionally proven difficult for visiting teams.

While Besiktas may have lost their first fixture in Group K and currently sit in the dropzone in Turkey's top flight, they are unbeaten in their three home games in all competitions this season.

Much will also be made of just one clean sheet coming from seven outings, although it should not go unnoticed that they have scored in their last six matches.

Boss Abdullah Avci has a job on his hands to improve the club's fortunes on both the domestic and European fronts, but a game of this magnitude may just be what his squad requires in order to get their campaign back on track.

Besiktas form: WDLLDL

Wolverhampton Wanderers form: LLLDDW

Team News

Diogo Jota is unlikely to feature for Wolves having picked up a foot injury, with reports suggesting that the Portuguese attacker could be absent until after the international break.

Patrick Cutrone could come into the team for Pedro Neto, despite his impressive showing against Watford, while Ruben Neves may replace Adama Traore.

While Romain Saiss has impressed in defence in recent games, either Jesus Vallejo or Ryan Bennett could come back into the team.

Besiktas will be able to call upon Mohamed Elneny and Adem Ljajic, who both served a domestic suspension at the weekend.

Defender Victor Ruiz is the only injury concern ahead of the visit of the English outfit.

Besiktas possible starting lineup: Karius; Douglas, Vida, Uysal, Rebocho; Diaby, Tokoz, Elneny, Ljajic, Nkoudou; Nayir

Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup: Patricio; Vallejo, Coady, Boly; Doherty, Dendoncker, Moutinho, Saiss, Jonny; Cutrone, Jimenez

We say: Besiktas 1-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers

While both teams have shown frailties since the beginning of the season, we expect them to rise to the occasion of realistically needing to avoid defeat on Thursday night. With that in mind, a competitive draw with few goals could be played out.