Besiktas – Lugano

The rivals will score at least three goals to two in Istanbul

Of all the opening matches of the Europa League qualification play-off round, Lugano vs Besiktas can be considered the most remarkable. There were a lot of goals in it, as well as willful actions of the opponents. There was also tournament intrigue left for the return leg.... In the middle of the first half the first goal of the match was scored by Jedson Fernandes, but Lugano quickly equalised with an accurate shot by Bislimi. In the second half, the first ten minutes led to two Besiktas goals and a 3-1 lead. It looked like a two-goal deficit would become unassailable for the Swiss club, but they had enough for two goals in the next ten minutes. With the score 3:3 on the scoreboard, the rivals stopped scoring and met the final whistle with an appropriate draw. Bookmakers have identified the hosts as the favourites for the upcoming meeting, offering odds of 1.44 on their victory. The Istanbul team finished only sixth in the last Turkish championship, but proved to be a real cup fighter. In the final of the national cup tournament Besiktas defeated Trabzonspor by a goal on 90+4 minutes - 3:2. Having gained the right to participate in the Europa League qualification, the Istanbul club in the off-season bought the rights to Al-Musrati signed Ciro Immobile for free, and also acquired Rafa Silva, who had delighted Benfica fans for eight seasons before. Among other things, the strengthening of the squad led to Besiktas' 5-0 victory in the Turkish Super Cup, as well as two convincing wins in the Turkish league. Samsunspor and Antalyaspor were beaten. Lugano, as Swiss vice-champion, started the European Cup season in the Champions League qualification. Ironically, the team got another Istanbul team, Fenerbahce, as opponents. Both the match in Lugano and the return leg in Istanbul were lost by the Swiss by one goal, which led to the team's relegation to the Europa League. In the previous round of qualification Lugano exchanged away victories with Partizan, but in the extra time of the return leg they defeated the Serbian team. Interestingly, only one of the ten official matches of the current season Lugano finished with less than three goals for two with their opponents. Let's bet that a high performance awaits the upcoming match.