Four Turkish teams are chasing spots in the Europa League, but the going will not be easy for at least three of them.
Beşiktaş, Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe and Trabzonspor will play return games in the playoff round on Thursday, hoping to make it to the group stages of European football’s second-tier competition.
Beşiktaş will visit HJK Helsinki, Galatasaray plays at Karpaty Lviv, Fenerbahçe takes on PAOK and Trabzonspor will welcome Liverpool.
Probably the hardest task will be on Trabzonspor’s shoulders. Following a 1-0 defeat that came after a hard-fought battle at Anfield Road, the Black Sea Storm will try to beat the English giant. It looks difficult but not impossible, given that Trabzonspor did well in stopping the Liverpool attackers.
Of course, coach Roy Hodgson’s decision to sideline seven of his regular starters in the first leg game helped Trabzonspor’s cause, but still the Turkish side should be praised for surviving one of the toughest stadiums in Europe. It should be noted that goalkeeper Onur Kıvrak’s performance was crucial in the match in England. The youngster did not allow Liverpool players to open the gap on several occasions, including a penalty by Joe Cole.
It should be good news for Trabzonspor that Hodgson will again play without Liverpool’s two biggest stars, Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, Agence France-Presse reported.
Gerrard has a back problem and Hodgson does not want to risk Torres in a third successive game after his injury problems last season.
“Gerrard unfortunately has had a recurrence of the back problem he gets from time to time,” said Hodgson. “Hopefully it won't stop him playing on Sunday. With Torres we've made the decision that we don't wish to risk him three games in a row at this stage of the season with him having done so well to get back this quickly.”
Defender Daniel Agger (concussion) and Maxi Rodriguez (illness) are also missing from the squad.
Hodgson urged his players to forget the recent City defeat and concentrate on what’s ahead.
"Defeats are something that come along the way but it's very important to get on with things quickly and don't allow them to poison what's after,” said Hodgson. “Let's make sure we pick ourselves up on the training field and get some enjoyment out of our football.”
Trabzonspor will be relying on its extremely passionate fan group at Hüseyin Avni Aker Stadium. Chairman Sadri Şener said the fans would be crucial in the Black Sea Storm’s bid to pull a big upset.
“Even if the game goes into overtime, it will be played on our ground; this is a great advantage,” Şener told daily Hürriyet. “It will not only be the team that wins over Liverpool. It will be fans’ victory as well.”
Trabzonspor is on a good run currently after winning both of its games in the domestic league.
Fenerbahçe, too, is playing at home with a 1-0 deficit. The Yellow Canaries failed to score an away goal despite playing a big part of the second half against a 10-man PAOK side.
Senegalese striker Mamadou Niang is hoping to score his debut goal in a Fenerbahçe shirt, while classy attackers Miroslav Stoch of Slovakia and Alex de Souza of Brazil are expected to return to action after being sidelined in Monday’s 3-2 league loss against Trabzonspor.
Galatasaray will try to end its freefall as it attempts to overcome a 2-2 home draw against Karpaty Lviv. The Lions managed the same in the previous round, beating OFK Beograd 5-1 after a 2-2 draw at home, but the Ukrainian side is likely to pose more of a threat than the Serbians.
Coming off a disappointing 2-0 home defeat at the hands of defending Turkish champion Bursaspor, Galatasaray will try to end its poor form and bounce back.
Arguably the easiest tie is Beşiktaş’s HJK Helsinki test, especially after the Black Eagles had little trouble beating the Finns 2-0 last week. Superstars Ricardo Quaresma and Guti are likely to be sidelined with the Istanbul side seemingly in charge of the tie.
