Recap
Hearts finished in 3rd place in last year’s Premieship, fought it out in the Europa League playoffs, but couldn’t eliminate Zurich and were straight through to the Conference League groups. The last time they had played in the European group stage was in the 2004-05 (UEFA) season when they still had current manager Robbie Nilsson as a player. In Scotland, they suffered two 1:0 defeats in three days, and had a really bad from with 5 defeats in the last 6 matches. Coach Robbie Neilson has some serious problems with absence due to injuries or suspensions. Out of the squad are Boyce (5/1), Rowles (5/1), Grant (4/1), Halkett (3/0) and Baningime. Basaksehir rightly got the ticket for the groups of the Conference League, since they played proper football in all 6 matches against Maccabi Netanya, Breidablik and Antwerp, having a record of 4-2-0. They start as 2nd favorite to qualify for the next stage, behind Fiorentina (they face them next week). An issue arose with coach Emre Belozoglou (yesterday was his birthday), because he will not be on the bench, as he doesn’t have the necessary documents required by UEFA. However, he has started procedures to resolve the matter. They are in great shape in the domestic league with 3-1-0 score, and didn’t concede a single goal. Only absence are Mesut Özil (1/0) and Mustafa Peksen. Basaksehir has been undefeated since March and has not yet conceded a goal in the Turkish league. There are absences in the home team, but also a difference in quality between the two teams and expect a serious approach from the Turkish team taking the first win in the groups.