Fenerbahce to host Manchester United Thursday in UEFA Europa League

By Bozhan Memis

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish football club Fenerbahce will host English Premier League giants Manchester United in a Thursday UEFA Europa League match in Istanbul.

Fenerbahce will be without Dutch full-back Jayden Oosterwolde, sidelined due to a cruciate ligament tear, and Turkish winger Cengiz Under, who is out with a groin injury.

Manchester United's French defender Leny Yoro is recovering from an ankle injury so he is likely to be ineligible.

The match at the Ulker Stadium will start at 1900GMT.

The two clubs have faced each other six times—four in the top-tier UEFA Champions League and two in the Europa League. During the 2016-17 Europa League season, Manchester United won 4-1 at Old Trafford, while Fenerbahce triumphed 2-1 in Istanbul.

Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho and midfielder Fred will face their former team on Thursday.

Mourinho coached Manchester United from 2016 to 2018 to win a Europa League title, an English League Cup, and an FA Community Shield.

Brazil's Fred, who played for the Red Devils from 2018 to 2023, secured an English League Cup during his time with Man Utd.

- Fenerbahce to play 277th European match

Fenerbahce are set to play their 277th match in European competitions with Thursday's game.

The Yellow Canaries have so far recorded 110 wins, 109 losses, and 57 draws, scoring 377 goals and conceding 393.

In the UEFA Cup/Europa League fixtures, they have won 61 of their 138 matches, with 43 losses and 34 draws. The team has netted 194 goals and conceded 173 in this competition.

Introduced in 1971, Europe's second-tier UEFA Cup was rebranded the UEFA Europa League in 2009.

- Fenerbahce's performance in European competitions is as follows:

- Twente to host Lazio, Besiktas to visit Olympique Lyon

Dutch side Twente will host third-place Lazio, while Istanbul's Besiktas will face fourth-place Olympique Lyon in France.

Lazio and Lyon won two matches each to have six points in the Europa League's league phase table led by Galatasaray, which have seven points in three matches.

On Wednesday, Galatasaray beat Sweden's Elfsborg 4-3 in Istanbul.

Lazio midfielder Matteo Guendouzi expressed confidence after their 4-1 victory over Nice on matchday two as he said: "If we continue to play like this, we can win many more games."

In another exciting match, Besiktas will look to avenge their 2016-17 Europa League semifinal defeat to Lyon, where a 7-6 penalty shootout in Istanbul secured Lyon's place in the final.

- Europa League

Wednesday's results:

Braga - Bodo/Glimt: 1-2

Galatasaray - Elfsborg: 4-3

Thursday's fixtures:

Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Rigas Futbola Skola

FC Midtjylland vs. Union Saint-Gilloise

Ferencvaros vs. Nice

Maccabi Tel Aviv vs. Real Sociedad

PAOK vs. Viktoria Plzen

Qarabag vs. Ajax

Roma vs. Dynamo Kyiv

Anderlecht vs. Ludogorets

Athletic Bilbao vs. Slavia Prague

Porto vs. Hoffenheim

Twente vs. Lazio

Fenerbahce vs. Manchester United

Olympique Lyon vs. Besiktas

Malmo vs. Olympiacos

Rangers vs. FCSB

Tottenham Hotspur vs. AZ Alkmaar

*Writing by Selcuk Bugra Gokalp