Overview
Fenerbahce is facing a great opportunity to return to the Champions League group stage after many years of continuous failures in the qualifiers. Since 2008, the Turkish team has failed to pass this round 9 times.
Last season, Fenerbahce was eliminated by Benfica in a similar round, leading to the departure of Jose Mourinho and paving the way for Domenico Tedesco. However, Tedesco could not help this team end Galatasaray's dominance in the Super Lig. Fenerbahce finished second, 3 points behind their opponent.
Tedesco's team also reached the Europa League play-offs but was eliminated by Nottingham Forest. Later, Ismail Kartal was appointed as a replacement and quickly helped Fenerbahce overcome Gornik Zabrze and then Sturm Graz in the second and third Champions League qualifiers.
However, Fenerbahce's start of the domestic season was not as expected. They unexpectedly lost 1-2 to Genclerbirligi last weekend. Talisca still maintained his impressive form when scoring in the fifth consecutive match, but that was not enough to help his team avoid defeat.
Fenerbahce will not have much time to regret when preparing to face Lyon. This is also the second time they have faced each other in three seasons, after a 0-0 draw in the Europa League season 2024-2025.
In the past, Lyon once had an absolute advantage over Fenerbahce in the Champions League. The two teams met 4 times in the early 2000s and the French representative both won.
Lyon has more experience in the Champions League as they have reached the group stage 16 times. However, the last time they participated was in 2019, the season Lyon reached the semi-finals before being eliminated by Bayern Munich.
After gradually overcoming financial difficulties, Lyon finished fourth in Ligue 1 last season and reached the round of 16 of the Europa League. They stopped before Celta Vigo but still won a Champions League spot this season from the third qualifying round.
Under the leadership of Paulo Fonseca, Lyon started the qualifiers with a 1-2 defeat to Sparta Prague. However, the French team took advantage of the home advantage in the second leg. When Sparta was only 10 people, Lyon played overwhelmingly and won 3-0, thereby advancing to the play-offs.
Lyon is facing a tight schedule with two Champions League play-off matches interspersed between the Ligue 1 opening match against Toulouse. Meanwhile, Fenerbahce must also quickly regain their spirit after the defeat in the domestic league.
Personnel situation
Fenerbahce is facing some force problems before the first leg. Sofyan Amrabat, Caglar Soyuncu and rookie Romelu Lukaku are unlikely to be able to play.
Lukaku, who once reached the Champions League final with Inter Milan in 2023, was initially not on Fenerbahce's UEFA roster. However, the Belgian striker affirmed that he is ready to play and can still be added before kick-off.
Lyon also suffered some losses as Khalis Merah, Mads Bistrup and Pavel Sulc are all recovering from injuries.
Although still facing financial constraints, Lyon has added Zachary Athekame and Lois Openda on loan from AC Milan and Juventus.
Expected lineup:
Fenerbahce: Cetin, Semedo, Skriniar, Ake, Brown, Guendouzi, Kante, Greenwood, Asensio, Akturkoglu, Talisca.
Lyon: Greif, Mata, Niakhate, Kluivert, Maitland-Niles, Morton, Tessmann, Ouedraogo, Abner, Tolisso, Openda.
The match between Fenerbahce and Lyon takes place at 2:00 a.m. on August 19 (Vietnam time).
