Good evening and welcome to the live commentary of the
Europa League clash between Fenerbahce and
Celtic.
Celtic enter tonight's fixture with their fate in the competition already sealed following their 2-1 defeat to Ajax last time out. The Bhoys were eliminated from the Europa League as they failed to beat Frank de Boer's men at Celtic Park, losing three of their five matches in Group A.
Ronny Deila will be determined to see his side bow out of the competition on a high note with a victory tonight.
Fenerbahce can seal their place in the next round of the competition by earning a point this evening. The Turkish side have performed well in the Europa League this season, losing just one of their five matches in the campaign. They produced a fine display to leapfrog Ajax in the group by defeating Molde 2-0 last time out, leaving them in a strong position to advance.
The team news has been announced and we'll start with the home side.
FENERBAHCE STARTING XI: Fabiano; Ba, Kaldirim, Gonul, Alves; Topal, Markovic, Potuk,
Diego; Souza, Fernandao
Subs: Volkan Demirel, Sener Ozbayrakli, Kadlec, Ozan Tufan, Uygar Zeybek, Ramazan Civelek, Caner Erkin
CELTIC STARTING XI: Gordon; Lustig, Boyata, Simunovic, Tierney; Bitton, Johansen; McGregor, Allan, Armstrong; Ciftci
Subs: Bailly, Izaguirre, Ambrose, Rogic, Forrest, Mackay-Steven, Commons
Kris Commons has returned to the bench for Deila's men after missing his side's last four matches, including their defeat to Ajax, with a hamstring injury. Nadir Ciftci leads the line for the Bhoys this evening in place of Leigh Griffiths, and Nir Bitton and Stefan Johansen return to the midfield after missing out in their last Europa League contest. Dedryck Boyata and Jozo Simunovic anchor the defence with Mikael Lustig and Kieran Tierney in the full-back spots ahead of keeper
Craig Gordon.
Fenerbahce are without Robin van Persie, Nani and Raul Meireles for the clash with the Bhoys. Fernandao spearheads their attack this evening supported by
Lazar Markovic and Alper Potuk. Diego, Souza and Mehmet Topal play in a three-man midfield, while Bruno Alves and Abdoulaye Ba start in the heart of the defence.
Celtic go through their final warm-ups ahead of kickoff in Istanbul.
Deila has revealed that he and his side will be doing everything in their power to ruin Fenerbahce's night to try and register their first win of the group stage.
He told BBC Sport: "The motivation is to win and to perform. It's a tough game. It's a good football team and it's a good atmosphere, it's harder to get points from.
"It's a good opportunity as well to make a good performance and fight really hard for getting a result. It's a good challenge for us. We'll do everything we can to ruin their party."
The players are out on the pitch so we should be underway shortly.
KICKOFF! We're underway in Istanbul.
OFF THE POST! The home side come within inches of the lead as Topal collects a through-ball from Markovic and blasts his effort towards the top corner, but his strike crashes off the post and bounces clear.
Scuffle in the middle of the park as Johansen and Diego square up to each other following a challenge from the Norwegian.
Souza raids down the flank and lifts a cross into the box for the run of Fernandao. Tierney does well to get a head on the ball, which allows Gordon to come through a crowd of players to claim the cross.
YELLOW CARDS! Johansen and Diego were booked for their scuffle in the midfield, both players have to be careful now.
A chance for the home side to threaten from a free kick 30 yards from goal as Bitton bundles Markovic off the ball. Bruno Alves stands over the ball waiting to take the set piece.
Alves blasts his effort towards goal, but the effort hits off the wall and goes behind for a corner. The resulting cross is then claimed by Gordon, allowing Celtic to clear their lines.
Celtic are on the back foot in the early stages of this match, they are yet to establish a period of possession, which has led to a series of dangerous attacks from the home side.
YELLOW CARD! Simunovic goes into the book for a late challenge on Gokhan. Another chance for the home side to threaten from a free kick.
Hasan Ali curls the ball into the box with his left foot, but Gordon races off his line to punch the ball clear, which does enough to abate the danger.
UPDATE! Ajax have taken the lead against Molde in the other match in Group A, which could place Fenerbahce's place in the next round in jeopardy should Celtic score first this evening.
Souza presses into the final third and Fernandao makes a run behind the Celtic defence, but the midfielder's attempted through-ball is cut out by Simunovic.
Celtic come forward down the right and Lustig ignores the appeals of McGregor to play a short pass to him on the edge to lift a cross into the box. Ciftci cannot make contact, but Ba struggles to deal with ball and can only head behind.
Armstrong sends the ball to the near post, but Fernandao clears the ball with a thumping header, but also clatters into his keeper Fabiano. The keeper looks to be winded by the clash with his teammate.
Fenerbahce have lost their way over the past few minutes as they are getting frustrated by their lack of success in the final third. The Bhoys have been resilient and appear to have rattled the home side, with Vítor Pereira urging his team to have patience.
CHANCE! Boyata plays the ball to Bitton, who sends a first-time ball over the top for the run of Ciftci. The striker only has Fabiano to beat, but dawdles on the ball which allows Ba to get back and make an inch-perfect tackle.
Ciftci almost gets in behind the Fenerbahce defence again as Boyata sends the ball over the top, but his time the striker is caught offside.
CHANCES! Diego lines up an effort from distance and sends his strike towards the bottom corner, which forces an impressive save from Gordon. Fernandao reacts first to the rebound and powers a volley on his left foot towards the net, but the Scotland international makes a reflex save to tip his effort over. Great keeping from Gordon.
Fenerbahce have rediscovered their rhythm and are beginning to shift the ball quickly in the final third, which almost presents an opening for Souza as he latches on to Kaldirim's cross from the left, but steers his effort on the volley over the bar.
Armstrong brings down Gokhan down the left, and Fenerbahce try to catch Celtic out with quick free kick, but Diego's attempted cross into the box sails well over the crossbar. A wasted opportunity for the home side.
UPDATE! Molde have equalised against Ajax, so if that result remains the same Fenerbahce will advance even with a defeat tonight.
GOAL! Fenerbahce 1-0 Celtic (Markovic)
Fenerbahce take the lead through an absolute clanger from Gordon, which allows Markovic - on loan from Liverpool - to slot the ball into an empty net. Diego sent a long ball over the top and Gordon raced off his line to claim, but he misjudged it and allowed the ball to travel through his legs. Markovic carried on his run and calmly placed the ball into the net despite the best attempts of Tierney on the line. Not a good moment for the Scotland international.
Armstrong gets brought down by Gokhan down the left and Celtic have a chance to threaten before the break.
CHANCE! Armstrong's free kick is cleared towards the edge of the box, but Lustig swings a leg at the ball on the volley and his strike loops over Fabiano, but drifts just wide of the post.
From the resulting corner, Simunovic rises highest in the area to head Armstrong's cross towards the net, but he can only guide his attempt wide of the post.
There will be one minute of added time.
HALF-TIME: Fenerbahce 1-0 Celtic
Fenerbahce lead through Lazar Markovic's strike following a horrendous error from Craig Gordon, although it may be harsh to blame the Celtic keeper as he did make three excellent stops in the first half to keep the Turkish outfit at bay. Deila's team were well in the match for the opening 39 minutes and should have taken the lead when Nadir Ciftci broke free through the middle, but he dawdled on the ball and was dispossessed before he could get a shot away. That has been the story of Celtic's campaign in Europe, their inability to take their chances and poor defending at the other end of the pitch.
Fenerbahce can sit in cruise control for the second half as long as they dominate possession like they have done in the first half. Ajax are currently drawing against Molde, meaning that they will be unable to overhaul the Turkish side unless they find another goal and
Vitor Pereira's side allow the Bhoys to come from behind to win.
The players have emerged for the second half, so we should be underway shortly.
RESTART! We're back underway in Istanbul.
CHANCE! Souza plays the ball into the feet of Potuk in the final third, who gets behind Lustig. However, the winger cannot sort his feet out in time before Boyata closes him down and makes the crucial intervention in the box.
YELLOW CARD! Ba goes into the book for the home side for a shove on Ciftci.
CHANCE! Diego sends a long ball behind the Celtic defence and Fernadao breaks into the box, but he lacks the pace to break away from Simunovic, who does just enough to hold off the forward before Gordon safely gathers.
Gokhan bursts down the right and sends a cross deep to the back post which lands at the feet of Pokul. The winger cannot find space for a strike and gives the ball out to Kaldirim, who puts the ball across the edge of the box, but the Bhoys managed to crowd out Topal before he can shoot to quell the attack.
Fenerbahce are probing in the final third, but are yet to capitalise on their monopoly of possession. Simunovic almost hands Fernandao a chance by trying too many turns on the ball on the edge of his own box, but the defender manages to recover at the last second to clear.
Allan does well to bring the ball forward and sends a incisive through-ball into the box for Ciftci, but the forward is on his heels and fails to beat Fabiano to the ball. Ciftci appeared to have lead in his boots there, very slow to react.
SUBSTITUTION: James Forrest replaces Armstrong for the Bhoys.
RED CARD! Diego is sent off for the home side for kicking out at Johansen. One of the most foolish dismissals you will see as he booted the back of the Norwegian right in front of the referee.
Fenerbahce were in complete control of the game, but due to the midfielder's stupidity Celtic now have the chance to make a comeback in the final 20 minutes.
CHANCE! Souza runs to the edge of the box unchallenged and opts to shoot on his left foot from 20 yards, but he can only bend his effort over the bar. Decent strike from the midfielder.
SUBSTITUTIONS: Commons and Rogic come on for the visitors to replace Allan and Johansen.
GOAL! Fenerbahce 1-1 Celtic (Commons)
Celtic draw level as Commons makes an instant impact from the bench by heading home from close range. Lustig created the opening by raiding down the right and he put a pinpoint cross on to the head of the midfielder to guide past Fabiano from six yards. An interesting final 15 minutes await us now.
CHANCE! Celtic fail to clear their lines from a free kick into the box and Markovic collects the ball on the edge of the box before curling an effort towards the bottom corner, but Gordon gets down low to his right to make the save.
The Bhoys work the ball well in the final third and Forrest takes the ball forward to drive to the edge of the box. Forrest then shoots for the top corner, but his strike sails well over the bar.
CHANCE! Forrest beats his man down the left and surges into the left inside channel before he cuts the ball to McGregor on the edge of the box. The midfielder shoots first time with his left foot, only to see his strike drift inches wide of the post.
UPDATE! It remains 1-1 in the clash between Ajax and Molde, but a goal for Frank de Boer's men and a winner for Celtic here would dump Fenerbahce out of the tournament.
SUBSTITUTION: Ozan Tufan replaces Markovic for the final 10 minutes of the match.
YELLOW CARD! Boyata goes into the book for the Bhoys for dissent.
SUBSTITUTION: Caner Erkin replaces Fernandao in a defensive switch for the home side. Pereira may just be a little bit concerned about a late goal from the Bhoys.
Celtic are looking like the team most likely to win the contest now, but have struggled for a tempo as the home side have put all nine outfield players behind the ball. Deila will be hopeful that his team can carve out one final chance.
There will be four minutes of added time.
CHANCE! Commons collects the ball on the edge of the box and shifts from his left foot to his right. He gets his strike away at goal, but Kaldirim gets enough on the ball to take the power off his effort and allows Fabiano to gather.
Fenerbahce are in clock-killing mode now as Gokhan runs right to the corner flag and stands with his back to Tierney and Forrest, who desperately try to win back possesssion.
Lustig has open space ahead of him down the right, but he opts to send an early cross into the box that sails over everyone's head in the area and travels behind for a goal kick. That could be the end this evening.
YELLOW CARD! Lustig gets carded for dissent in the final minute of stoppage time.
FULL-TIME: Fenerbahce 1-1 Celtic
Fenerbahce seal their place in the knockout phase of the competition, despite playing the last 20 minutes of the match with 10 men. Lazar Markovic's first-half goal was cancelled out by Kris Commons in the 75th minute, but the home side did just enough to secure the point to secure their place in the next round.
Deila will be pleased that his side showed resolve to earn a point from the fixture, which they deserved after going behind from Craig Gordon's calamitous error. However, they showed good quality in the final third to snatch a draw and maybe should have gone on to win the match had they displayed a bit more confidence.
Thanks for joining our commentary this evening, until next time, goodbye.