Twente are flying high in the domestic league and staying on the top of the standings. They have been quite impressive and they are not only getting results but also performing some quality football lately. They have their tenth victory in a row in the domestic league.

Fenerbahce on the other hand are having some hard times despite staying on the top of the Turkish Super League. They lost a local derby before the last matchday, and lost to relegation zone team Kasimpasa on the last matchday. Kasimpasa match was mentioned in the prediction here.

In the first game of this clash, Twente beat Fenerbahce 1-2 in Istanbul, thanks to the two goals came in 10 minutes and that defeat was the only defeat Fenerbahce got in this group; they have won the all three games since then and staying at the top of the group.

Fenerbahce have important missings for this match. Their enthusiastic and talented midfielder Emre Belozoglu will be out due to injury. His absence effects them too much. Colin Kazim-Richards will miss the game due to injury as well. A defensive midfielder will replace Emre’s position and that will lower the creativity and balance in the midfield but give extra strength to the team defense.

Twente will be with full squad except Theo who was already out due to a long term injury.

Fenerbahce manager Daum said in his press conference that they will gain their momentum starting from this match. Players are also under heavy criticism and they know they will silence those only if they produce some positiveness on the pitch.

Twente manager McLaren seemed comfortable in the press conference and stated that they surprised Fenerbahce in the first match and gave them their only defeat in the group but he added that now Fenerbahce are aware of Twente’s strong sides plus the willingness of Fenerbahce players to produce a good result after a two weeks bad run in their domestic league will make things harder for Twente.

The extra fan support Fenerbahce will have in Netherlands have to be underlined as well.

As for prediction; I am expecting a tactical battle in this match. A loss would damage Twente a lot as they sit on the second place and they are still under danger. They won’t risk to lose and will probably choose a conservative approach to the game. Fenerbahce on the other hand will be more than OK with a draw as it will keep them at the top before the last matchday. I don’t think this clash will produce too many goals considering the facts mentioned above.

Prediction
Goals | Under 2,5
Extras
Draw at HT | Draw at FT