Our football match prediction:
St Liege
Match Time & Date:
04/10/2018
20:00 GMT
Prediction: 2-0
Akhisarspor
Standard Liege will be looking to bounce back from a heavy 5-1 loss to Sevilla when they host Akhisarspor at their Stade Maurice Dufrasne in their second group game. The Red Devils have been totally out of form of late, but Thursday’s football match could be the turning point for them. Standard footballers are aware of the fact that this game could be crucial in their Europa League campaign and we predict that they are going to leave their hearts on the field. Akhisarspor, on the other hand, suffered a 1-0 loss to Krasnodar in the opening match of their Europa League campaign and seeing that Standard are a real force to be reckoned with at home, we are tempted to put our money on the Belgian side. You should bear in mind that the two sides have never met before in European competitions.
Highlighted Player (Mehdi Carcela-González):
Despite being born in Liege, Belgium on July 1, 1989, Mehdi Carcela represents Morocco on the international stage. Carcela initially chose to play for his country of birth Belgium, taking part in two friendlies with the Red Devils, but in February 2011 he made his debut with Morocco. He represented Morocco at the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals in Russia, but the African side failed to make it to the knockout stages of the showpiece tournament. Speaking of his club career, Mehdi Carcela played for the likes of Standard Liege, Anzhi, Benfica, Granada and Olympiakos (on loan). He currently plays for Standard Liege on loan from Granada. Mehdi Carcela’s main position is right winger, but he is capable of playing as both attacking midfielder and left winger as well. In the 2008/2009 season the Morocco international won the Belgian Pro League with Standard and seven seasons later he repeated the success with Benfica as the Eagles won Primeira Liga. His preferred foot is left.
Highlighted Team (Akhisarspor):
Akhisar were founded in 1970 by the merged of three Turkish clubs: Gunesspor, Genclikspor and Doganspor. Yilmaz Atabarut founded the club and he was the club’s first president. Despite being founded back in 1970, Akhisar failed to secure promotion to the Turkish top flight before 2012. The Akigo have been playing an important role in the Super Lig ever since, but the club’s biggest success is winning of the Turkish Cup in the 2017/2018 season. Akhisar defeated Fenerbahce in the title game, with the likes of Lopes, Sissoko and Barbosa scoring for the Akigo. Fernando and Souza found the net for the capital club. As a result, Akhisar booked their place in the Europa League group stages where they will face the likes of Sevilla, Standard and Krasnodar. Akhisar welcome their rivals at Sport Toto Akhisar Stadium, the venue which can hold 12,139 supporters. The stadium was opened in January, 2018.
