Fenerbahce vs Union Saint-Gilloise Prediction

Fenerbahce and Union Saint-Gilloise meet in the opening matchday of the Europa League this week as both sides aim to start their campaign strongly. Fenerbahce’s recent European record hasn’t been particularly impressive, while their visitors have only just moved into the European scene. This match looks like it will be an interesting watch.

Key Stats

• Fenerbahce are five points off the top of the league, having drawn once and lost once this season
• The Turkish side conceded more than half of their league goals this season in their last match
• Union Saint-Gilloise are currently in 12th position in the Belgian Pro-League, after eight games
• They have been involved in 14 goals in their eight games, the second least in the league

Fenerbahce vs Union Saint-Gilloise Previews, Form and Players to Watch

Fenerbahce definitely have the best form out of the two sides, but they are not as far into their season as Union Saint-Gilloise, who have had to play most of their difficult fixtures already.

Fenerbahce have the home advantage in what is one of the longest travel distances in the Europa League this season.

Fenerbahce Preview

Predicted Lineup: D. Livakovic, M. Muldur, R. Becao, C. Soyuncu, J. Oosterwolde, Fred, I. Yuksek, D. Tadic, S. Szymanski, A. Saint-Maximin, Y. En-Nesyri

Fenerbahce will want to get back to winning ways having lost their first game this season at the weekend. Jose Mourinho’s first Istanbul derby ended in a 3-1 defeat at home to Galatasaray. Edin Dzeko scored the only goal for the hosts from the penalty spot, but it ended up being just a consolation goal.

Before that game, their form was good, having won three consecutive matches without conceding, but that will certainly be a blow for them, especially as Galatasaray have now won all six league games so far this season.

Allan Saint-Maximin has impressed in parts this season, and he will be now looking to kick off this European campaign with a good performance.

Union Saint-Gilloise Preview

Predicted Lineup: A. Moris, F. Leysen, C. Burgess, K. Machida, A. Castro-Montes, M. Rasmussen, C. Vanhoutte, N. Sadiki, C. Terho, F. Ivanovic, M. Fuseini

The Belgian side started off the season quite well, but are now without a win since the 16th August. In that time, they have lost once and drawn three games 0-0. Those draws demonstrate their struggles in front of goal, as they have had more opportunities in each of those games.

Even in their recent loss against Royal Antwerp, Union Saint-Gilloise had the same number of shots and more on target, despite being away from home and down to 10 men for much of the second half.

Head to Head Stats - Fenerbahce vs Union Saint-Gilloise

These two sides have met just once before, fairly recently. In March of this year, they faced off in a UEFA Conference League Round of 16 tie. Over the course of the two legs, Fenerbahce came out on top, but Union Saint-Gilloise did manage to win the away leg 1-0, after being smashed 3-0 at home.

14th March 2024 - Fenerbahce 0-1 Union Saint-Gilloise - UEFA Conference League

7th March 2024 - Union Saint-Gilloise 0-3 Fenerbahce - UEFA Conference League

Betting Tips for Fenerbahce vs Union Saint-Gilloise

Fenerbahce have the much better form of the two sides and also have the far superior team. They have wealths of European experience at their disposal with the likes of Fred, Dusan Tadic and Youssef En-Nesyri.

Union Saint-Gilloise are struggling to score against lesser opposition, so when they face Mourinho’s side, I doubt they’ll find the back of the net. On top of this, their back line has rarely been tested this season, so it could get embarrassing for the Belgian side.

With all of this in mind, our team of professional experts have decided that the best tip for this game is for Fenerbahce to Win and Over 1.5 Goals. That is Evens on Parimatch means that a £10 bet could see a potential return of £20.

(odds subject to change)

Final Prediction

Fenerbahce 3-0 Union Saint-Gilloise

Both sides will see plenty of the ball, but only one will capitalise on that. Union Saint-Gilloise simply don’t have the attackers to break down a strong Fenerbahce backline while the Turkish side certainly do.

For more tips like this one, click here.