Why There Is No Favourite
In theory, Besiktas JK should be favourites because they are at home and can also buy players who are noticeably more expensive and better known than their opponents, but there is no trust in them. Firstly, they are not such a huge force in Turkey. Last season, the Black Eagles were some way off the leaders, Fenerbahce and Galatasaray, and even lost out on bronze to Trabzonspor.
Besiktas JK have lost their top scorer, Tammy Abraham. They have not signed a replacement yet, although rumours around Mohamed Salah are being circulated.
FC Midtjylland reached the Round of 16 of the 2025/26 UEFA Europa League, while Besiktas JK were knocked out by Swiss side FC Lausanne-Sport in the play-off qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League, and only that competition.
Besiktas JK have a new head coach in Vincenzo Italiano, who still has to build a coherent system like the one he had at Bologna.
Form and Line-up Besiktas JK
In their pre-season preparations, Besiktas JK played five friendlies. They won only the first one, against modest Gyirmot (2:1) from Hungary's third division. The Istanbul side did not face any major opponents. Surely we cannot call Spartak Trnava one? The star newcomers have not been involved yet. Alexander Nubel is certainly a significant upgrade on Ersin Destanoglu, but Dogan Alemdar and Emre Bilgin have mostly played in goal so far. Leandro Trossard, bought on the day of the match against the Slovak club, will still be unable to help the team until the end of July — the Belgian needs a rest after the World Cup.
Key numbers for Besiktas JK:
Besiktas JK conceded at home in all three European qualifying matches last summer.
The Istanbul side lost two of their three European qualifying matches in the 2025/26 season.
Italiano's team conceded goals in four of their five friendlies.
Probable line-up (4-2-3-1): Dogan Alemdar — Ridvan Yilmaz, Emirhan Topcu, Tiago Djalo, Kassoum Ouattara — Salih Ozcan, Wilfred Ndidi — Ilhan Fakili, Orkun Kokcu, Vaclav Cerny — Semih Kilicsoy
Form and Line-up FC Midtjylland
Because of their Champions League involvement, FC Copenhagen fell short in the domestic league last season, but FC Midtjylland failed to take advantage and allowed AGF to finish ahead of them. The team from Herning were themselves fighting in Europe until mid-March, when they lost to Nottingham Forest over two legs in the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 (1:0 away and 1:2 at home). Franculino Dju has not yet been sold, but Aral Simsir, who produced 8+13 in the 2025/26 Danish Superliga, has already left for Turkish side Trabzonspor for 13 million euros.
Key numbers for FC Midtjylland:
FC Midtjylland scored in all eight away matches in the 2025/26 UEFA Europa League.
The team from Herning had a long European campaign last season, playing 16 matches in the UEFA Europa League.
FC Midtjylland averaged 2.25 goals away from home in last season's UEFA Europa League.
Probable line-up (3-4-2-1): Elias Olafsson — Rasmus Kristensen, Ousmane Diao, Han-beom Lee — Dario Osorio, Philip Billing, Pedro Bravo, Victor Bak Jensen — Valdemar Byskov, Friday Etim — Franculino Dju
Who Will Referee the Match
Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea (Spain)
Matches – 7 (international fixtures, 2025–2026);
Average fouls per match – 21;
Average yellow cards per match (including second yellows) – 3;
Matches with red cards – 2 out of 7;
Matches with penalties – 2 out of 7.
