Ferencvaros – Trabzonspor

In Budapest, the Turks will be close to avenging the home defeat.

The current edition of European competition for Ferencváros is turning out to be less ambitious than the previous ones. For the first time in the last eight years, the Budapest club did not become the champion of Hungary and qualified not for the Champions League qualifying rounds, but for the continent's second-tier tournament. However the lack of the usual strong pressure to perform is favorable for Hungary's runners-up. Starting their path from the first qualifying round of the Europa League, Ferencváros has not once been on the brink of elimination. In the round of 16 of the qualifiers they beat Serbian Vojvodina twice, and then fairly confidently advanced past the Dutch side Twente. In the previous qualifying stage, the Hungarian squad defeated Górnik Zabrze — Poland's runner-up — after two legs. Indeed, before the confrontation with Trabzonspor, bookmakers were cautious in their predictions, not listing Ferencváros as the favorite. The Turkish side itself had been calmly watching the Europa League qualification through mid-August, not taking part in it. The third Turkish club burst into the competition at the playoff stage, and it was Ferencváros who drew them. The clash with the Budapest club did not go well for Trabzonspor. Hosting the opponent on their stadium in the first leg, Fatih Tekke's team fired 24 shots at the opponent's goal, but none of those efforts yielded a goal. Yet Ferencváros managed to score in the 17th minute and held the 1-0 lead until the final whistle. The first leg was Mohamed Salah's debut for Trabzonspor, but the Egyptian forward showed his full potential in the following league game. In the game against Başakşehir, Salah scored twice, delivering a 2-1 victory for his new team. Ferencváros did not play any matches after the meeting in Turkey. The national football federation accommodated the capital club and cleared the calendar for European competition. Ferencváros managed to play three times in the Hungarian championship in just over a month and managed to win once, lose once, and draw once. Despite the victory in Turkey, it is unlikely that Hungary's runner-up will consolidate that success on its home ground. Their opponent is far more richly equipped in terms of personnel.