The Birmingham club won the Europa League in the spring while also climbing to fourth place in the Premier League. After the summer break, the revamped squad suffered a number of setbacks: they lost the UEFA Super Cup to PSG and secured their first Premier League win only in the fifth round, against a struggling Tottenham side. After the break, they could manage only a 2-2 draw with Brentford.
The Istanbul side failed to qualify for the previous Champions League campaign, after which Mourinho was shown the door. They won the Super Cup without him, but once again lost to Galatasaray in the domestic league. Now, under Kartal, they have dropped points in half of their Süper Lig matches. In October, they crushed Rizespor 3-0.
The English side began their Champions League campaign away to Club Brugge. And they won 3-2 in Belgium! The Turkish giants once again started the summer in qualifying, and this time eliminated Górnik Zabrze, Sturm and even Lyon. In the league phase, they opened with a draw against Roma — frustrated by the dropped points against the Italians, Kartal resigned!
Previous matches: Aston Villa vs Fenerbahçe
All three meetings in European competition, in 1977 and in January, were won by the British side.
It is unlikely that much has radically changed now — Unai Emery will get the better of this opponent once again (odds – 1.74).
Aston Villa vs Fenerbahçe: key statistics and trends
Aston Villa have won two of their last three matches
Aston Villa score an average of 0.8 goals and concede 1.8 goals per match
Both teams have scored in 40% of Aston Villa’s matches, while the average total is 2.6 goals per game
Fenerbahçe have won two matches in a row
Fenerbahçe score an average of 2.67 goals and concede 1 goal per match
Both teams have scored in 50% of Fenerbahçe’s matches, while the average total is 3.67 goals per game
Aston Villa vs Fenerbahçe: possible starting lineups
Aston Villa play in a 1-4-2-3-1 formation (possible lineup): Suzuki – Maatsen, Torres, Lindelöf, Wan-Bissaka – João Gomes, Kamara – Hemmings, Buendía, McGinn – Jackson
Fenerbahçe play in a 1-4-3-3 formation (possible lineup): Ederson Moraes – Brown, Aké, Škriniar, Müldür – Elmaz, Yüksek, Kanté – Aktürkoğlu, Muriqi, Greenwood
