Midtjylland – Besiktas

Beşiktaş, despite winning the first leg, will find it extremely difficult to get past the Danish side.

Beşiktaş has in recent years been making unsuccessful attempts to return to the top ranks of Turkish football. Trailing in opportunities to its two fiercest rivals, Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray, the Istanbul club last won the Turkish championship in the 2020/2021 season. Last year Beşiktaş finished fourth in the national league, and on the European stage for the first time in a long while failed to progress through qualification. First the Istanbul side were beaten in the Europa League, and then in the playoff qualifying round they left the Conference League. Unlike its opponent, Midtjylland last season played at a phenomenal level in European competition. In the group stage of the Europa League the Danes finished third behind Aston Villa and Lyon, but in the Round of 16 on penalties they lost to the tournament's eventual finalist Nottingham Forest. Overall, Midtjylland reached the knockout stages of continental tournaments in four of the five previous editions, which testifies to the Danish team's unique stability. In the current Europa League, the Herning-based team competes as the Danish Cup winners. Bookmakers have set the home side as favorites for the upcoming match, offering odds of 1.85 on their victory. In the first leg there was an early sending-off from the Danish side. Friday Etim failed to keep his nerves and received a straight red card in the fifteenth minute. In the first half Beşiktaş, courtesy of Orkun Kökcü, scored the goal that proved to be the only one of the match. Given the circumstances, a 0-1 defeat under pressure from the Turkish side throughout the game can be regarded as a favorable result for the Danes. Last weekend Midtjylland started the new Danish championship with an away victory over SønderjyskE by 3-2. In the off-season the Herning-based squad carried out a fairly interesting transfer campaign, during which it signed players from Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt. Despite Beşiktaş holding the lead after the first leg, the psychological advantage is clearly with the Danes. They know how to solve serious questions in European competitions, as they demonstrated last season. The hosts will win the match.