Beşiktaş will face Dutch side Twente in the final match of the UEFA Europa League group stage on Thursday, aiming for a place in the playoffs.
The match will be held at Twente Stadium, with a scheduled kick-off at 11 p.m. local time. Polish referee Szymon Marciniak will officiate, with Tomasz Listkiewicz and Adam Kupsik assisting.
Beşiktaş, having secured three wins and four losses in their seven previous Europa League matches, will look to defeat Twente and finish among the top 16 teams in the competition. A win would allow the Turkish side to secure a seeded position in the upcoming playoffs. The Black Eagles recently triumphed 4-1 against Athletic Bilbao, securing nine points and sitting in 24th place in the league standings.
In their seven encounters in the competition, Beşiktaş scored 10 goals but conceded 14.
Twente, managed by Joseph Oosting, have struggled in the Europa League this season, securing only one win, four draws and two losses from seven matches, totaling seven points and ranking 26th. The Dutch team has scored seven goals while conceding nine. They last secured a 3-2 victory against Malmö in the seventh week of the group stage.
Beşiktaş have faced difficulties keeping a clean sheet in European competition this season. The team started the Europa League playoffs with two losses to Swiss side Lugano, conceding four goals. Throughout the group stage, they have scored 10 goals but conceded 14 in seven matches. Their only clean sheet in this year’s competition came in a 1-0 win over Olympique Lyon in France.
The standout player for Twente this season has been 23-year-old midfielder Sem Steijn. Steijn has appeared in 28 matches across all competitions, contributing 18 goals and five assists. In the Europa League, he has scored once in six appearances.
Beşiktaş will be without four players for the upcoming match. Necip Uysal and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are not registered for the UEFA Europa League, while Gabriel Paulista and Tayyip Talha Sanuç continue to recover from injuries.
Beşiktaş also face uncertainty regarding Jonas Svensson and Emirhan Topçu, who sustained injuries in the recent Süper Lig match against Antalyaspor. Their participation will depend on medical assessments.
With 9 points and sitting 24th in the standings, Beşiktaş will progress to the playoffs with a win over Twente, regardless of other results. A draw or loss could also see them advance, depending on results in other matches.
In a potential scenario, if Beşiktaş lose by a single goal, their chances of advancing will still depend on results in other games. If Porto lose by no more than two goals at home to Maccabi Tel Aviv, Braga fail to beat Lazio, and Hoffenheim lose to Anderlecht, Beşiktaş could still progress despite a one-goal defeat.
In another scenario, should Roma, currently on 9 points, lose by a margin of seven goals at home to second-place Eintracht Frankfurt, Beşiktaş could leapfrog the Italian side despite a one-goal loss.
