Preview: Besiktas vs. Athletic Bilbao – prediction, team news, lineups

Athletic Bilbao traveling to Istanbul on Wednesday Europa League clash with Turkish side Besiktas at Tupras Stadium.

The Basque side sits in second place in the league phasewhile the hosts are in 28th place with two games left to play.

Match preview

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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is set to take charge of his first game as Besiktas boss after signing an 18-month deal to return to football management for the first time since being sacked by Manchester United in November 2021.

Solskjær has taken over a team sitting sixth in the Turkish Super League and a point outside the Europa League qualification places after winning two and losing four of their six games in the main draw.

Besiktas recorded back-to-back wins against Lyon and Malmo after losing to Eintracht Frankfurt on matchday one, only to lose back-to-back games against Maccabi Tel Aviv and Bodo/Glimt in their last two European outings of 2024.

They now need to finish strongly in their final two games in the league stage against Athletic and Twente if they are to progress to the knockout rounds of a UEFA competition for the first time since reaching the last 16 of the Champions League in 2017-18.

Besiktas will take a five-match unbeaten run into Wednesday’s game (W2, D3), although they would have been frustrated to be held to a goalless draw in Sunday’s Turkish Super Lig outing against Samsunspor.

The hosts have previously faced Athletic on three occasions in European competition, losing both matches in the 1985 UEFA Cup before winning 3-1 in the UEFA Cup group stage in November 2004.

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Unlike their hosts, Athletic have already secured a place in the Europa League knockout rounds after winning five and drawing one of their six matches.

After taking a point from Roma on matchday one, Los Leones went on to claim five straight wins against AZ Alkmaar, Slavia Prague, Ludogorets, Elfsborg and Fenerbahce, ensuring they are one of three teams yet to lost in the league phase.

Although assured of a place in the play-off round, they will still be determined to secure a top-eight spot and immediate progression to the round of 16.

Los Leones travel to Turkey on the back of a successful league outing against Celta Vigo, bouncing back from last week’s Copa del Rey exit to claim a 2-1 win in Sunday’s trip to Galicia, with Alex Berenguer and Dani Vivian find the net to move Athletic level in fourth on 39 points with Barcelona in third.

As a result of this weekend’s win, the Basque outfit have now gone nine competitive away defeats since the loss to Girona at the start of October.

Athletic have not conceded more than one goal on any of their nine road trips and will fancy their chances of producing another strong defensive display, especially as they boast the best defensive record in the league stage with two goals conceded .

Besiktas’ Europa League form:

Besiktas form (all competitions):

Athletic Bilbao Europa League form:

Athletic Bilbao form (all competitions):

Team news

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The hosts are expected to be without benefits from Gabriel Paulista, Tayyip Talha Sanuc and Necip Uysal.

Defender Bakhtiyor Zaynutdinov must be assessed after he was forced to miss Saturday’s league match against Samsunspor due to an injury problem.

Ciro Immobile will continue to lead the line for Besiktas, with the striker looking to add to the 14 competitive goals he has scored this season.

As for the visitors, they are unable to summon those attacking qualities Oihan Sancetwho has missed the last four games with an ankle injury.

Ernesto Valverde could be tempted to freshen up his with a number of changes, with Oscar de Marcos, Aitor Paredes and Yuri Berchiche all vying to be in the back line.

Mikel Jauregizar could get the chance to start in the middle of the park, while Gorka Guruzeta can enter the side to lead the line in Istanbul.

Besiktas possible starting line-up:
Gunok; Svensson, Topcu, Uduokhai, Masuaku; Al Musrati, Fernandes; Silva, Mario, Rashica; Immobile

Athletic Bilbao possible starting line-up:
Simon; De Marcos, Vivian, Paredes, Berchiche; Jauregizar, Ruiz de Galarreta; I. Williams, Berenguer, N. Williams; Guruzeta

We say: Besiktas 1-1 Athletic Bilbao

Solskjaer will be hoping to start his tenure with a win, especially as Besiktas need a strong finish to the league stage to reach the knockout rounds.

However, we think they will have to settle for a draw when they face an Athletic side who have avoided defeat in each of their six games in the league stage.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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