Besiktas vs Frankfurt

Besiktas and Eintracht Frankfurt will square off in the Europa League on Thursday night, with both teams hoping to win their first games in the redesigned League Phase of the competition.

While Die Adler shared a hefty portion of the spoils in Germany, the Black Eagles faced a difficult beginning to their European quest for glory.

Besiktas qualified into the League Phase of the redesigned Europa League this season after defeating Swiss team Lugano in the playoff round of qualification. However, their first-ever matchup in the competition did not go as planned at the residence of a Dutch powerhouse last Thursday.

Eredivisie powerhouses Ajax defeated the Black Eagles four goals to none in Amsterdam thanks to a masterful brace from Mika Godts and goals from Kian Fitz-Jim and Kenneth Taylor either side of the halftime whistle. As a result, Ajax was the greatest loser of the first gameweek.

Following that depressing loss in the Netherlands last week, Besiktas made a spectacular comeback to Turkish Super Lig action, winning 3-0 away at Kayserispor thanks to goals from Ciro Immobile twice and former Tottenham Hotspur player Gedson Fernandes in the second half.

As the October international break approaches, Giovanni van Bronckhorst's team is still undefeated in six top-flight games, with the Black Eagles now sitting third in the Super Lig rankings behind Fenerbahce and Galatasaray, their bitterest rivals.

Aiming to replicate their 2021–22 Europa League campaign, where they defeated Scottish powerhouse Rangers in the championship match to claim UEFA's second division, Eintracht Frankfurt kicked off their most recent European journey with a thrilling draw against Viktoria Plzen last week.

Die Adler led the match 3-1 going into the last five minutes of normal time with to goals from Hugo Ekitike, Eric Ebimbe, and Rasmus Kristensen. However, Prince Adu and Vaclav Jemelka's efforts allowed the Czech visitors to tie the score.

Nevertheless, Eintracht Frankfurt's goal to contend at the top of the Bundesliga was unaffected by last Thursday's setback, as they defeated newly promoted Holstein Kiel 4-2 on Sunday thanks to contributions from Omar Marmoush, who scored four goals. On Thursday, the team traveled to Turkey.

After losing to Champions League winners Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park on the first weekend of the Bundesliga season, Die Adler have gone five games without a loss in the German Bundesliga and Europa League, including consecutive victories away from home.