Defending Turkish Super Lig champions Trabzonspor welcome Basel to the Senol Gunes Sports Complex on Thursday evening in the first leg of their UEFA Europa Conference League playoff encounter.
Abdullah Avci's side dropped down from the Europa League after finishing third in Group H, while Bebbi progressed to the knockout stages following their second-placed finish to SK Slovan Bratislava.
Match preview
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Trabzonspor are pursuing their first-ever European trophy but have struggled in their domestic and European endeavours this season.
Avci's side began their continental journey in August last year in a Champions League qualification playoff encounter against Copenhagen. Although, a 4-2 aggregate defeat at the hands of the Danish side led to the Black Sea Storm embarking on a journey into UEFA's second-tier competition.
Trabzonspor registered three victories from their six group-stage matches, however, an equal number of defeats left the Trabzon-based outfit to disappointingly settle for third position behind winners Ferencvaros and AS Monaco.
Situated in sixth position in the standings, the Black Sea Storm are unlikely to complete their task of defending their Turkish Super Lig title, with Avci's side trailing current leaders Galatasaray by a staggering 16 points.
Trabzonspor last played on February 5, after all football matches in the country were indefinitely suspended after the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria, as the visitors suffered a 2-1 loss at Okan Buruk's table-topping outfit, despite taking the lead within the opening 60 seconds through Maxi Gomez's strike.
Facing off against Basel for the first time since December 2019, in which Avci's side suffered a 2-0 defeat in Switzerland, the Black Storm Sea will be hoping for a different outcome to the disappointing events at St. Jakob-Park, on Thursday evening.
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An ever-present fixture in European football since the turn of the current century, Basel will travel to Turkey with aspirations of progressing to the last 16 of the Europa Conference League for the second successive campaign.
Alexander Frei's side were knocked out of UEFA's newest tournament by French football powerhouse Marseille - 4-2 on aggregate - in March last year but will hope to produce a replica of their 2022-23 group stage form, beginning at the Senol Gunes Sports Complex on Thursday.
Basel finished second in Group H, behind eventual winners Slovan Bratislava, after suffering only one defeat in six matches.
Bebbi have underperformed throughout the 2022-23 Swiss Super League campaign, sitting in sixth position, an extraordinary 20 points adrift of leaders Young Boys, but only three behind Lugano, who occupy the final European qualification position.
Basel suffered a last-gasp defeat to Grasshoppers on February 4 after Japanese international Hayao Kawabe found the back of the net deep into second-half injury time but returned to winning ways a week later with a 3-1 victory over Sion.
Team News
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After witnessing his side's defeat to Galatasaray, Trabzonspor manager Abdullah Avci could contemplate making changes to his starting XI for the impending visit of Basel.
On the back of finding the back of the net against their fellow Turkish football powerhouse, Maxi Gomez will lead the hosts' line on Thursday evening.
More changes could come in midfield, with Enis Bardhi and Umut Bozok pushing for prospective recalls to Black Sea Storm's starting 11.
Unlike his managerial counterpart, it is unlikely that Basel boss Alexander Frei will make any alterations to his starting team sheet for the footballing excursion to Turkey after their victory over Sion.
Following on from scoring in their last match, Hugo Novoa and Zeki Amdouni are expected to again begin in a midfield five, alongside Fabian Frei, Andy Diouf and Dan Ndoye, behind on-loan Brighton striker Andi Zeqiri.
Trabzonspor possible starting lineup:
Cakir; Larsen, Hugo, Denswil, Elmali; Siopis, Omur, Bardhi, Bakasetas, Bozok; Gomez
Basel possible starting lineup:
Hitz; Lang, Kasim, Pelmard, Calafiori; Frei, Novoa, Diouf, Ndoye, Amdouni; Zeqiri
We say: Trabzonspor 0-1 Basel
Despite both sides struggling in their respective domestic leagues, we predict that Basel will edge out Trabzonspor in a closely-contested clash at the Senol Gunes Sports Complex and subsequently take a slender lead into the second leg at St. Jakob-Park in a week's time.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
