Our prediction for this Europa Conference League match:
Aspmyra Stadion will be the centre of attention when Bodo/Glimt and Besiktas square off against each other in a highly-anticipated Group D game. Bodo aim to recover from a 1-0 loss to Club Brugge and we are positive that they will adopt an attack-oriented strategy in Thursday’s clash. All Elabdellaoui, Espejord, and Tjaerandsen-Skau should miss out with injuries for the home team.
The Turks, on the other hand, failed to impress in a 3-2 loss to Lugano. As Besiktas are desperate to record their first win of the process as well, we are going to bet on both teams to score. As for the away side, all Bailly, Sanuc, and Ucan have been struggling with injuries of late, whereas Valentin Rosier serves a one-game ban. Former Werder Bremen winger Milot Rashica is pushing for a start after coming as a substitute in the second group game.
Highlighted Player (Milot Rashica):
Milot Rashica is a Kosovo Albanian player who was born on June 28, 1996 in Vucitrn, FR Yugoslavia. Rashica is a product of FC Vushtrria football academy and he continued playing for the Ferki Aliu Stadium outfit at senior level.
Milot Rashica is a winger, but he is used as an attacking midfielder as well and it has to be noted that his preferred foot is right. Nowadays, the Albanian footballer plays for Vitesse in Dutch Eredivisie and he has established himself as a first-team regular at the club.
Milot Rashica made his Vitesse debut on July 30, 2015, coming as a substitute for Serbia international Uros Djurdjevic in a 3-0 defeat to Southampton in the Europa League qualifiers. Speaking of his Eredivisie debut, Rashica played his first match for Vitesse in the Dutch elite division on August 9, 2015 in a 1-1 draw with Willem II. The Vitesse footballer has six caps for Albania U21 team, but he represents Kosovo at senior level.
Highlighted Team (Besiktas):
Besiktas football club is one of the most successful teams in Turkey. Since its foundation in 1903, Besiktas have never been relegated to a lower rank of Turkish football. Black Eagles as they are known in Turkey play their matches at the Vodafone Arena in Istanbul which is an almost 42,000 all-seater capacity venue.
Considered one of the top three football clubs in the country, Besiktas are the 14-time Super Lig champions who are entering the Champions League group stage in the 2016-17 season looking to make their presence known at the European scene. Besiktas have played in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League four times already, and are yet to progress through to the knockout sgateg in the competition that was established in today’s format in 1992.
Their most outstanding European achievements of the Turkish side are the European Cup and UEFA Cup quarter-finals in 1987 and 2003, respectively. During their rich history the Black Eagles have also won 9 Turkish Cups and 8 national Super Cup titles.