Lemi Çelik analyzes: Fenerbahçe faces Olympiakos for a spot in the semi-finals...

Samet SAĞLAM-12punto.com.tr

Fenerbahçe takes the field with a must-win mentality in the second leg of the UEFA Europa Conference League quarter-finals, following their 3-2 defeat in Piraeus.

Sports writer Lemi Çelik evaluated the critical match for 12punto.

"THEY WILL WIN COMFORTABLY AND..."

Çelik commented, “In terms of squad quality and performance, Fenerbahçe is a team far above Olympiakos. When you look at the squad depth, the richness of the bench, and make all the comparisons, we see that Fenerbahçe is much superior, more successful, and in better form than Olympiakos. I think Fenerbahçe will beat Olympiakos very comfortably at home and advance to the next round.”

Touching on the injuries at Fenerbahçe, Çelik stated, “Injuries can be coincidental, and many players can get injured at the same time; what is important here is the strength and conditioning coach, this needs to be investigated.”

The match to be played at Ülker Stadium will start at 22.00 tonight. The match will be broadcast live and free-to-air on TV8.

HOW CAN FENERBAHÇE ADVANCE?

The Yellow-Navies lost 3-2 to their opponent in the first leg played in Greece. Fenerbahçe will secure a spot in the semi-finals with any victory by 2 or more goals. If the Yellow-Navies win by a 1-goal margin, the match will go to extra time. If the score remains unchanged after two 15-minute periods of extra time, penalty kicks will determine the team that advances to the semi-finals.

Any victory or draw for Olympiakos will see Fenerbahçe bid farewell to European competition.

THE YELLOW-NAVIES' PERFORMANCE AGAINST GREEK TEAMS

Fenerbahçe's first encounter with Greek teams took place in the 2002-2003 season, when they were paired with Panathinaikos in the 2nd round of the UEFA Cup. After a 1-1 draw at home in the first leg, the Yellow-Navies were eliminated from Europe following a 4-1 defeat away.

The next pairing for the Yellow-Navy team against a Greek side was in the 2010-2011 season. Facing PAOK in the UEFA Europa League play-off round, Fenerbahçe lost 1-0 away, and although they finished the regular time at home leading 1-0, the match ended 1-1 after a goal by PAOK in extra time, and Fenerbahçe was eliminated.

Fenerbahçe's only victory against Greek teams came against Atromitos. Paired with Atromitos in the UEFA Europa League play-off round in the 2015-2016 season, Fenerbahçe won the away match 1-0 and the home return leg 3-0 to advance to the group stage.

Facing Olympiakos in the 2021-2022 UEFA Europa League Group D, Fenerbahçe lost the match in Istanbul 3-0 and left the match in Athens with a 1-0 defeat. Having recorded 1 win, 3 draws, and 2 losses in the 6 matches played in the group stage, Fenerbahçe suffered both of these defeats against Olympiakos.