Besiktas – Crystal Palace

In Istanbul, the visitors from England will earn at least one point.

Besiktas, a 16-time Turkish champion, stopped seriously challenging for the national title in 2021. Since then, the Istanbul side has finished in the top three of the Turkish Super Lig only once. That happened after Senol Gunes briefly returned to the coaching position in the 2022/23 season. Literally every season, Besiktas starts with a new coaching staff, which cannot have a positive impact on team building. Nevertheless, the Istanbul club is trying to keep up with local rivals Fenerbahce and Galatasaray by remaining active in the transfer market. In June this year, Vincenzo Italiano took charge of the team after recently making a name for himself at Fiorentina and Bologna. Under the Italian coach, Besiktas have already added Leandro Trossard, Orkun Kokcu and Dusan Vlahovic. Time will tell how effective such high-profile signings will be, but for now the Istanbul side's results leave much to be desired. While victories over Hoffenheim and Marseille in the Europa League look like an excellent achievement, Besiktas have already lost three times in ten rounds of the domestic championship. Their latest setback came on Monday, when Italiano's charges meekly lost 0-2 to Trabzonspor. Crystal Palace lost the main architect of their success, Oliver Glasner, at the end of last season. The Austrian coach could not come to terms with the club selling practically all of its key players. Last season, Glasner guided Crystal Palace to the first European triumph in the club's history before calmly moving to the more ambitious Nottingham Forest. After Glasner's departure, the Eagles sold France international Maxence Lacroix to Chelsea. In other words, no change in the club's strategy should be expected. Consequently, Crystal Palace could well finish the current season in the bottom half of the Premier League table. The Eagles currently sit fourteenth, but even their 0-5 defeat to Brighton in the previous round does not change the fact that, in terms of individual quality, Crystal Palace are superior to Besiktas. We will bet that the English club will take at least one point back from Istanbul.