Istanbul derby sides move on to European stage

ISTANBUL

Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe, which clashed in an Istanbul derby over the weekend, appear on the European stage again on Nov. 25 when the former hosts Marseille in Istanbul and the latter visits Olympiacos in the Europa League.

Nov. 21’s derby pitted the two teams against each other, with the visiting side Fenerbahçe claiming a 2-1 victory with a late goal.

Despite its inconsistent result in the Süper Lig, Galatasaray sits at the top of its group in the Europe League with eight points from four games. The club is unbeaten in the competition so far and can secure a place in the knockout stages with a win on Nov. 25.

Galatasaray boss Fatih Terim bemoaned wasteful finishing after his side drew 1-1 against Lokomotiv Moscow on Nov. 4

“If you miss that many chances in a match, you could even risk a defeat,” he said.

The experienced coach will hope his team can sharpen up its shooting as Marseille visits, looking to avoid a fifth straight draw in Group E.

Coach Jorge Sampaoli is adamant that they deserve more than they have had. “There’s no justice in football,” he said. “We’ve led all four matches; we’ve played with a lot of courage and personality.”

Olympiacos and Fenerbahçe, meanwhile, will battle for three points in a crucial match.

Just one point separates the two sides on the table. The host is the better-placed team in second place on six points, while Fenerbahçe is directly behind it in third spot.

Olympiacos comes into the game on the back of a thrilling 3-2 away victory over AEK Athens in the Greek Super League on Nov. 21. Youssef El Arabi’s brace helped the Greek champion edge the five-goal thriller.

This will be the second continental meeting between the sides, following their first leg clash last month.

Georgio Masouras’ second-half brace helped Olympiacos secure a comfortable 3-0 away victory on matchday two of the campaign.

Also on Nov. 25, Celtic feels that things are finally going its way after back-to-back victories over Ferencvaros, coach Ange Postecoglou purring after “a fantastic performance” in Budapest last time out.

However, fantastic may not be enough as it tackles Group G leader Bayern Leverkusen, with the German side having pounded its main section rival Real Betis 4-0 at the BayArena on Nov. 4 after having earlier won 4-0 at Parkhead.

Like Celtic, Rangers is also third in its group, but will rise to second if it can avenge a 1-0 away loss against Sparta Prague in Group A.

In Group A, leader Lyon is certain of a round of 16 spot, but has plenty of reasons to keep piling on the goals. Karl Toko Ekambi is the top scorer in this season’s tournament with six and has netted on every matchday, while no other side has outscored Lyon’s 12 goals.