Besiktas V Manchester United – Champions League (Group B)

Besiktas V Manchester United

Kick-Off: Tuesday 15^th September – 19:45 GMT

Venue: BJK Inonu Stadium (Turkey)

An English side does tend to draw a Turkish opponent somewhere down the line in this compeition and now it’s Manchester United who have to face up to a hefty trip across Europe as they head over to Turkey where a hostile reception awaits them. Besiktas are the team preparing to take full advantage of the support from a feisty crowd but will the amount of home support they have help bridge the huge gulf in class between the two sets of players?

Manager Views

The Besiktas manager; Mustafa Denizli, is expecting his side to secure some sort of result against last years beaten finalists, but is he being a little too optimistic? Maybe not, as English sides haven’t always had things there own way when playing in Turkey, with Liverpool losing in this very same venue to this very same Turkish side just two seasons ago. Mustafa claimed that earning a result against one of the favourites of the entire competition would make his teams job of qualifying for the knock-out stages of the tournament a whole lot easier, although, he was also quick to mention that, really, teams should be aiming to secure all three points at home.

Sir Alex Ferguson has been coy about his sides chances of getting the win they need to set them up perfectly in Group B, but has been quick to dismiss that the loss of Christinao Ronaldo has left his team a lot weaker in terms of scoring goals and creativity. The Scot is expecting his youthful side to produce the goods when it really matters, starting with a tricky tie away in Turkey at Besiktas.

Respective Form & Absentee’s

Besiktas will still have nightmares over their last encounter with an English opponent, when they were hammered 8-0 at Anfield by Liverpool in 2006/2007. The Turkish side will also be aiming to bypass the group stage of the tournament for the first time in six attempts. However, Mustafa Denizli has no new fresh injury concerns but he does have somewhat of a rebuilding job on his hands after his squad lost in a convincing manner at the weekend to bitter rivals Galatasaray, 3-0.

Manchester United come into this fixture full of confidence after securing their third win on the spin at the weekend. United shown their resilience on Sunday by beating an inform Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 at White Hart Lane, despite being reduced to 10 men midway through the second half. That was United’s third win in succession after victories over Arsenal & Wigan Athletic.

However, Sir Alex Ferguson is still without first choice goalkeeper; Edwin Van Der Sar, veteran full-back Gary Neville & new signing Gabriel Obertan is still unavailable and he has yet to make his competitive début for the ‘Red Devils’. Owen Hargreaves is still out of action and will be for some time to come.

Game Plans

Turkish teams aren’t known for their brilliant defensive displays so we expect Besiktas to attack United’s defence from the off in a bid to knick an early goal. With the roar of a capacity home crowd urging their side forward, Besiktas will be under some pressure to make the early breakthrough but an early strike for United could quickly see their loyal and expectant fans turn very hostile.

It’s hard to predict what sort of formation Sir Alex Ferguson will go with for this clash with last seasons Turkish Super League winners. We expect United to be very compact in midfield with probably both Darren Fletcher and Anderson anchoring the United backbone. Dimitar Berbatov hasn’t made the best of starts in his second season with the ‘Red Devils’s, but the Bulgarian looks set for a starting berth at the forefront of United’s attack, while Wayne Rooney, United’s most influential player right now, will play just off Berbatov. Rio Ferdinand might make his return from injury and feature at some point tonight but we aren’t too sure if Sir Alex will risk the England centre-half as United face a Manchester derby at the weekend.

Betting Market

Manchester United’s superb league form has made them clear favourites to win in Istanbul, although, what with United facing a Manchester Derby on Sunday, will the United players have one eye on that weekend fixture and bottle out of any harsh tackles? We wouldn’t like to think so as Sir Alex Ferguson will be desperate to make a winning start in the Champions League and we fancy United to grind out a narrow but vital win at Besiktas.

Betting Odds:

Besiktas – 13/2 BetFred

Manchester United – 8/15 PaddyPower

Draw – 31/10 SportingBet

SoccerBetting Tip: Manchester United to WIN – 8/15 PaddyPower