Having lost their first two matches, Besiktas will aim to stop their poor run in an away game against Olympique Lyon. Like the Fenerbahce-United match, this game will kick off at 22:00, with German referee Harm Osmers officiating.
Besiktas will be without injured players Mert Gunok, Gabriel Paulista, Milot Rashica, and Necip Uysal, while Ersin Destanoglu, who has recovered from injury but is not fully fit, has traveled with the team. Ersin is expected to guard the goal today.
Should Ersin be unable to play, the 19-year-old goalkeeper Goktug Baytekin, who came up through Besiktas’ youth system, will make his debut with the senior team.
This will be the third encounter between Besiktas and Lyon, with each team having secured one win in their previous matchups.
We Share Similar Traits with Lyon
Besiktas head coach van Bronckhorst noted the similarities in playstyle between his team and Lyon, saying, “We need to produce good work when we have the ball. They will approach the game with the same philosophy. We want to maintain possession and attack.”
The Dutch coach continued, “If we compare players, we can see the quality on both sides. We can draw comparisons between Lacazette and Immobile, Cherki and Rafa, Fofana and Semih… It’s a mix of young and experienced players.”
Lyon head coach Pierre Sage also emphasized the similarities between the two teams and stated that Wilfried Zaha, on loan from Galatasaray, is likely to play today.
Lyon’s probable line-up:
• Perri
• Niles
• Mata
• Caleta
• Tagliafico
• Matic
• Cherki
• Veretout
• Tolisso
• Fofana
• Lacazette
Besiktas’ probable line-up:
• Ersin
• Svensson
• Uduokhai
• Emirhan
• Masuaku
• Ndour
• Gedson
• Muci
• Silva
• Semih
• Immobile
