Athletic Bilbao will travel to Turkey for Wednesday's meeting with Fenerbahce on matchday six of the Europa League league phase.
The Turkish giants are currently in 15th position, while Athletic are sitting joint-top alongside Lazio and Eintracht Frankfurt.
Match preview
Fenerbahce have experienced mixed results in the inaugural league phase, having won two, drawn two and lost one of their opening five matches.
Jose Mourinho's side got up and running with a 2-1 home win over Union SG, before they went winless in three European games with consecutive draws against Twente and Manchester United followed by a 3-1 away defeat against Dutch side AZ Alkmaar.
After taking two points from three games, Fenerbahce would have been relieved to return to winning ways on matchday five, with Edin Dzeko and Youssef En-Nesyri getting on the scoresheet in a 2-1 victory over Slavia Prague, moving the Turkish side three points clear of 25th place.
Fenerbahce will try to produce more positive results in their final three league phase games against Athletic, Lyon and Midtjylland, as they look to reach the knockout stages of a UEFA competition for the third season in a row.
Unfortunately for Mourinho, his team will enter Wednesday's contest off the back of a disappointing 1-0 defeat in Sunday's derby clash against Besiktas, with the result leaving them six points adrift of leaders Galatasaray in the battle of the Turkish Super Lig title.
After losing on their travels at the weekend, the Yellow Canaries will be looking forward to returning to the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, where they have won four of their previous five home matches in all competitions.
Athletic are competing in European competition for the first time since 2017-18 after finishing in fifth place in La Liga last season.
Los Leones have never won a European trophy, but they will hope that the 2024-25 campaign is when that will all change, with the Europa League final set to take place at their atmospheric home of San Mames in May 2025.
Ernesto Valverde's side made an impressive start in their bid to reach a home final, dropping just two points in their opening five Europa League matches.
After playing out a 1-1 draw against Roma, Los Leones went on to dispatch AZ Alkmaar, Slavia Prague and Ludogorets, before they swept past Elfsborg by a 3-0 scoreline thanks to goals from Adama Boiro, Benat Prados and Gorka Guruzeta.
As a result of those victories, Athletic are sitting in second position and three points ahead of ninth place, leaving them in a strong position to advance straight to the last 16 ahead of their final three league phase games against Fenerbahce, Besiktas and Viktoria Plzen.
The Basque side will be aware of the tough task that awaits them on Wednesday, but they will head to Turkey in confident mood after beating Real Madrid and Villarreal in the last week to make it five straight victories in a 11-game unbeaten run in all competitions (W8, D3).
Team News
Fenerbahce are without the injured duo of Mert Hakan Yandas and Jayden Oosterwolde, while Fred will serve a one-match suspension for an accumulation of yellow cards.
Ismail Yuksek is poised to replace Fred in midfield, while there may be starting opportunities for Bright Osayi-Samuel, Sebastian Szymanski and En-Nesyri.
Caglar Soyuncu could return to the squad following a four-match injury absence, and there is a possibility that he could come straight into the backline for Wednesday's fixture.
Meanwhile, Ander Herrera is Athletic's only known absentee, with the midfielder set to miss a third consecutive match due to a hamstring issue.
Unai Simon made his long-awaited return from injury in Athletic's most recent European game against Elfsborg, and after dropping to the bench for the last three league matches, the Euro 2024 winner should come back into the side for Wednesday's away trip.
Nico Williams is set to return to the lineup after dropping down to the bench for Sunday's 2-0 win over Villarreal, and there could also be starting spots for Andoni Gorosabel, Mikel Jauregizar and Boiro.
Fenerbahce possible starting lineup:
Livakovic; Osay-Samuel, Djiku, Soyuncu, Muldur; Yuksek, Amrabat; Tadic, Szymanski, Saint-Maximin; En-Nesyri
Athletic Bilbao possible starting lineup:
Simon; Gorosabel, Vivian, Yeray, Boiro; Jauregizar, Ruiz de Galarreta; I.Williams, Sancet, N.Williams; Guruzeta
We say: Fenerbahce 1-1 Athletic Bilbao
After winning four of their previous five home games, Fenerbahce will be looking to make full use of home advantage in Wednesday's fixture, but we think that they may have to settle for a share of the spoils, with Athletic proving to be a tough team to beat in recent times.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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