Our prediction for this Europa Conference League match:
Antwerp
Match Time & Date:
25/08/2022
20:45
Prediction: 1-1
Basaksehir
Antwerp will be aiming to book their spot in the Conference League group stages when they take on Basaksehir at Bosuilstadion on Thursday evening. The Reds shared the spoils with Basaksehir in Istanbul, with Portugal defender Dinis Almeida scoring a late equalizer. Antwerp are a real force to be reckoned with at home, but this game will be anything but a walk in the park for the Jupiler League outfit. Defender Bjorn Engels remains on the sidelines with injury for the home team.
The Turks, on the other hand, aim to build on a 2-0 win over Kayserispor. Since Basaksehir are likely to rely on their rock-solid defence in the decider, we are tempted to put our money on under 2.5 goals. Mustafa Peksen is out of contention through injury, but there are no suspended players in the away team ahead of the trip to Belgium.
Highlighted Player (Radja Nainggolan):
Born on 4 May 1988, Radja Nainggolan is a Belgian footballer who plays for AS Roma as a central midfielder. The combative midfielder failed to leave a mark on domestic stage, having left his first club Germinal Beerschot for Piacenza as a 17-year-old. Nainggolan soon started to prove his worth at senior level, earning a move to Cagliari in 2010.
He continued with impressive performances in Italian Serie A and eventually snubbed a number of top European sides to join AS Roma in 2014.The central midfielder enjoyed a very good start to his career at Stadio Olimpico, while also establishing himself as a first team regular in the Belgian national team, helping the Red Devils climb to first place in FIFA Rankings and also qualify for the Euro 2016 finals.
A highly skilled midfielder who does not shirk from defensive duties, Nainggolan is also famous for his fiery temperament that has seen him earn 2 red cards and over 70 yellow cards during the course of his career.
Highlighted Team (Basaksehir):
Istanbul Basaksehir are one of the youngest clubs in Turkey. Founded in 1990, Istanbul Basaksehir play their home games at Fatih Terim Stadium, the venue that was opened in 2014. The Turkish club club have yet to win the national championship, but they did well to finish the 2016/2017 Super Lig campaign in second place in the standings.
As a result, Istanbul Basaksehir booked their place in the Champions League qualifiers and thanks to a win over Club Brugge in the two-legged tie the capital club set up a meeting with La Liga side Sevilla in the play-offs. Despite producing fine performances in the double-header against the star-studded Spanish side Istanbul Basaksehir eventually failed to make it to the Champions League group stages.
Nonetheless, the club will represent Turkey in the group stages of the Europa League in the 2017/2018 season. It has to be noted that the likes of Emmanuel Adebayor, Eljero Elia, Emre Belozoglu and Gael Clichy played for Istanbul Basaksehir in the 2017/2018 Champions League qualifiers.
Barcelona
Las Palmas 
Crystal Palace
Newcastle 
Borussia Dortmund 
Bayern Munich 
West Ham
Arsenal
Chelsea 
Aston Villa 
Manchester United 
Everton
