They took another win against struggling Sivasspor (2-0) during last weekend. They were the dominant side, but needed a penalty to take the lead after 43 minutes. Sivasspor had their chances, but was not able to score, while Besiktas struggled to get the second goal to seal the game off. It was not until stoppage time when their second goal was produced, so the result was not so solid as it looked like, as it was just the penalty that separated them most of the time. Winger Ricardo Quaresma is doubtful with his hamstring-injury.
Skenderbeu is a whole new team to play at the European stage, when they entered the group stage earlier this season. They are off course not used to this kind of level as they are usually playing in the Albanian Super League. They are in 4th position so far, but they have managed a superb win against 1st placed Sporting (3-0) in their last match. It was a terrific performance from the “amateurs” from Albania in the meeting with a shocked Sporting. The game started very well as Sabien Lilaj scored 1-0 after 15 minutes played.
It all got better when Sporting keeper Rui Patricio got shown off as he made a penalty two minutes later. Lilaj stepped up to the penalty-spot and sent Skenderbeu to heaven with a 2-0 finish. The match continued, but Sporting was not able to come back at all in the game. Sporting became more and more frustrated, and Skenderbeu made the guests’ crisis even worse with 3-0 after 55 minutes. The rest of the match continued with very few chances and Skenderbeu actually turned the match into a deserved win, which was a unbelievable performance in a retrospective view. They are also in 2nd place in their domestic league with 9-2-1 as they got their first loss last weekend against Kukesi (2-1). No injuries are reported, while striker Hamdi Salihi (10/9) will return to the squad after serving his red card- suspension.
Besiktas will always be the clear favorites in games like these, but they have not produced overwhelming results in their games in Europe so far, despite getting the points. They have only been able to score one goal in every match in Europa League so far, and conceded one goal in the latest three fixtures as well. Skenderbeu is not leaved any chance to get three points tonight, or not even score a goal, which on one side is easy to understand in terms of the quality that the team possess. However, their performance against Sporting was something to think about and it is also important to remember that they scored away from home (5-1) in the match previous to that in Portugal, even if they played 65 minutes of the game with just 10 men. I recon Skenderbeu to be full of positive energy after their gigantic performance against Sporting and they will have nothing to lose tonight either. A draw tonight will actually make it possible to advance from this group for them if they win their last match. However, it is important to not get too carried away here, but a goal for the guests is tempting tonight.
Bet: Skenderbeu to score @ 2.88
