FC Copenhagen vs Istanbul Basaksehir Prediction & Betting Tips - Europa League

Prediction published on 02/08/2020, 18:41  by James | Modified on 02/08/2020 at 19:43 in Europa League Prediction

FC Copenhagen lock horns with Istanbul Basaksehir in the second leg of their Round of 16 Europa League tie this week. The Danish side play as hosts in this game after losing 1-0 in Turkey back in March. There has been a long disruption to this season's Europa League competition but after this round is through, the rounds to come will be single-leg affairs. Furthermore, they will be played at neutral venues across Germany. The winners of this tie will play the winners of LASK-Manchester United in the quarter-finals. Basaksehir will be on cloud nine coming into this game after winning the first Super Lig title in their history in the middle of July. They fought off competition from the traditional powerhouses in the country to become only the sixth team to finish top of the table. Copenhagen missed out on championship glory this season, losing their domestic league crown to Midtjylland. A number of defeats in the Championship round of the Superliga season put paid to any hopes of retaining their title.

In the Europa League this season, the most eye-catching results that Copenhagen have picked up have been away from home. The 3-1 win away to Celtic was a scalp they could wave around proudly following a close-fought 1-1 first-leg draw. Copenhagen tend to play low-scoring games on their own ground with six of the seven Europa League matches on their patch featuring fewer than three goals. Istanbul are a mixed bag away from home this season; they started off their group stage run by getting battered at AS Roma but ended it with victory away to Gladbach. A heavy defeat away to Sporting Lisbon in the Round of 32 brought their travel sickness back into the spotlight. Including their failed UCL qualifier at the start of the season, they have lost three of their five away matches in Europe. We think this gives Copenhagen a decent shot. But a safer wager is to bet on their being fewer than three goals.