Mourinho, Fenerbahce Get European Campaign Underway
Fenerbahce’s coach, Jose Mourinho, is the only man to win all three of the UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League. He’s won five major European trophies in his career and he’ll be looking to guide Fenerbahce to European success in 2024-25. As Europa League action gets underway, we’ll take a look at the Fenerbahce vs Union SG odds for Thursday’s match in Istanbul.
Fenerbahce and Union Saint-Gilloise met in last season’s Conference League and both sides will be looking for all three points here. However, Sebastian Pocognoli’s tenure as USG manager has gotten off to a rough start.
That said, stay tuned for our match prediction and top soccer bet.
Fenerbahce vs Union Saint-Gilloise Match Info:
- Location: Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey
- Date & Time: Thursday, September 26th, 12:45 p.m. ET
- TV: Paramount+ (USA)
Fenerbahce vs Union SG Head-to-Head
- Fenerbahce and Union Saint-Gilloise met in last season’s Conference League round of 16
- In the first leg, visitors Fenerbahce picked up a 3-0 victory. USG won the second leg 1-0 but Fenerbahce advanced with a 3-1 aggregate win.
- This is only the third meeting all-time between the two sides.
Dzeko, Tadic Key for Fenerbahce
- Form (All Competitions): L,W,W,W,D
Fenerbahce lost for the first time in the Turkish Super Lig this season when they fell 3-1 to Galatasaray last Saturday. Notably, Fenerbahce have followed up their last five 90-minute losses, in all competitions, with a victory.
Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce contract is worth over $22 million over two seasons. With the legendary coach at the helm, Fenerbahce still weren’t able to qualify for the Champions League. After defeating Lugano twice in second round qualifiers, Fenerbahce fell 3-2 to Lille in the third round, on aggregate.
The Summer was quite busy for Fener. The Istanbul giants brought in Youssef En-Nesyri, Caglar Soyuncu, Allan Saint-Maximin, Oguz Aydin, Rade Krunic, Sofyan Amrabat, Levent Mercan, Cenk Tosun and Filip Kostic.
En-Nesyri won the Europa League with Sevilla in 2023, as they defeated Mourinho’s Roma in penalties. There’s plenty of European experience on this squad and they’ll be aiming for a top eight finish to receive a bye to the round of 16. Fenerbahce’s Europa League schedule isn’t terrible, all things considered.
Edin Dzeko has been the key man for Fenerbahce so far, as he’s scored five goals in six Super Lig matches. Dusan Tadic is still one of the best playmakers in Europe and Dominik Livakovic has kept four clean sheets in six Super Lig matches.
Defender Bright Osayi-Samuel is out for Fenerbahce but Mourinho can still name quite a strong squad.
Union Saint-Gilloise Struggling to Score
- Form (All Competitions): D,L,D,D,W
Union Saint-Gilloise have barely missed out on the Belgian Pro League title in each of the last three seasons. Early signs point to them not being in the title race this season, though. Through eight matches, USG have scored just seven goals and are 2-4-2 in the Pro League.
The Union Saint-Gilloise standings show they’re in 12th place, just one point ahead of the relegation round spots. This is Pocognoli’s first senior head coaching job and it’s going take some time for him to get adjusted.
As star players Cameron Puertas, Gustaf Nilsson and Mohamed Amoura all left in the offseason, goals have been hard to come by. In fact, USG haven’t scored in any of their last four games. To make matters worse, top-scoring striker Mohammed Fuseini is serving a red card suspension.
Plus, defender Henok Teklab recently suffered a broken leg. With all of their struggles to create chances and score goals, Union Saint-Gilloise have won only one of their last eight games, in all competitions.
Over two legs, USG lost 4-1 to Slavia Prague in the third round of Champions League qualifiers. Hence, they dropped down to the Europa League group stage. Last season they went 0-1-2 on the road in the group stage.
Fenerbahce vs Union SG Odds, Prediction
Fenerbahce opened at -143 odds for Thursday’s match. The best Fenerbahce vs Union SG odds price the hosts at -154 at the moment. Meanwhile, the best odds on a USG win are +430 at FanDuel Sportsbook.
However, Union Saint-Gilloise haven’t won a game away from home for over two months. Bettors can also find a draw at +310, which happened when Fenerbahce took on Lille at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium last month.
Fenerbahce are currently 0.75 goal favorites, while the over/under goal total is 2.5. The Mourinho factor is real and all of his experience should be an advantage here as USG’s Pocognoli presides over his first group stage European match as a head coach.
Plus, Fenerbahce’s roster is full of big name talents while Union Saint-Gilloise lose their best players year-after-year. Fenerbahce destroyed Union Saint-Gilloise last season when it mattered most and the visitors haven’t scored for over a month.
After losing to their biggest rivals at home, Fenerbahce can get back on track with a bounce back victory here. Our Fenerbahce vs Union SG prediction is that the hosts will win their 2024-25 Europa League opener.
Bettors can take Fener to win at -154 odds at Bet365 and we’d feel comfortable taking them up to -160 odds.
Fenerbahce vs Union SG Best Bet: Fenerbahce (-154)
Most Recent Pick: Ludogorets vs Slavia Prague
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