Copengahen – Istanbul Basaksehir

Copengahen must be clinical when they host Istanbul Basaksehir at the Parken in a second game from the Europa League 1/8-finals on Wednesday. The Turkish champion won the first game in Istanbul back in March, so now they have the advantage. But is this going to be enough for them to progress?

These two teams met at the Fatih Terim stadium in March and the Turkish side celebrated a 1-0 win. The match was going to end with a draw, but just two minutes before the end Basaksehir recieved the opportunity to execute a penalty kick. The Bosnian star Eden Visca took the responsibility and scored for the hosts.

Now Copenhagen are in a difficult situation and the manager Stale Solbakken knows this very well. The Danish team must be offensive-minded in the second leg, but they must be very careful not to concede a goal at the Parken. Because of this Solbakken must come up with a very good tactical plan in order to neutralize the Turks.

Sadly for Copenhagen’s fans their favourite team lost the title race in Denmark, but they prepared themselves for Istanbul Basaksehir with a win. A week ago Copenhagen hosted Nordsjalland at the Parken and achieved a 2-1 win. It was Jonas Wind and Dame N’Doye who scored for Solbakken’s team.

Most surely the Danish team will try to use its European experience in this game. Copenhagen are a well-known team on the continent, but Istanbul Basaksehir are getting better and better in the recent years. This season they won the Turkish Super Liga for a first time in their history.

Can Copenhagen neutralize Istanbul Basaksehir’s advantage from the first leg? The Danish club is facing a big challenge on Wednesday. The stakes are clear – progress towards the Europa League 1/4-finals. Let’s see.