Before the start of the clash between the Turkish and Dutch clubs in Istanbul, the former were the favourites. The bookmakers were leaving decent odds on a successful outcome for Twente. However, an "abnormal" situation intervened in the fate of the first match, when at the end of the first half at the score of 1:1 the nerves of 20-year-old midfielder of the Dutch club Juri Regeyer gave out. A suspension and successful substitutions in the Istanbul team led to Fenerbahçe inflicting a 5-1 rout on their opponents. The decent football shown by Twente in the first half of the game a week ago allowed bookmakers to determine them as favourites for the return leg. You can bet on the home team's victory at odds of 2.21.

Nineteen times the Yellow Canaries have won the Turkish league title, but the last time they managed to achieve triumph on the national stage was in the 2013/2014 season. Since then, Fenerbahçe have lost the gold medals either to their worst enemies from Istanbul or to such unexpected triumphants as Trabzonspor or Başakşehir. The capital club started the new season very ambitiously. In addition to the victory described above, Fenerbahçe have won six of their previous six Conference League qualifiers and the new Turkish Super League season. In terms of tournament strategy, the upcoming game in the Netherlands will be one of the least important for the Istanbulians this season, as the outcome of the two-match duel is almost certain, and in three days' time Fenerbahçe will be travelling to Ankara in the Turkish league.

Twente are not a dominant force in the Eredivisie. The team proved their eligibility for Conference League qualification in June's play-offs with Heerenveen and Sparta. However, the new season has shown that Twente can be considered a worthy representative of the national league. Before the defeat in Istanbul, the team had not lost any of the six official Eredivisie and Conference League qualification meetings, winning five of them. Twente will probably say goodbye to the European competitions on Thursday, but they will certainly try to get on the nerves of the star-studded Turkish club. We bet that the hosts will be closer to victory in the return leg.