Fenerbahce vs Union Saint-Gilloise Prediction: Goal-shy visitors set for more misery against Mourinho

Jose Mourinho's first taste of the Intercontinental Derby ended in disappointment last Saturday as his Fenerbahce side suffered a 3-1 home defeat to Galatasaray, who are already five points ahead of the Yellow Canaries in the Turkish Super Lig. However, the Portuguese tactician must now rouse his players for the visit of Union Saint-Gilloise on Thursday (17:45, TNT Sports 3) in the league phase of the Uefa Europa League.

Below you can find my Fenerbahce vs Union Saint-Gilloise prediction, complete with all the latest team news and match odds, ahead of this clash at the Ulker Stadium.

Team News

Mourinho may opt to make several changes given the embarrassing nature of Saturday's defeat which saw them go 3-0 down before the hour mark.

Sofyan Amrabat, Irfan Can Kahveci, Cengiz Under and Youssef En-Nesyri could all come into the starting XI having appeared as second-half substitutes against Galatasaray, with Allan Saint-Maximin, Dusan Tadic and Fred among those who could drop out.

Ex-Queens Park Rangers winger Bright Osayi-Samuel, who has often featured at right-back for Fenerbahce, continues to miss out through injury, however.

Football Odds

Union Saint-Gilloise aren't exactly on cloud nine themselves heading into this fixture as they are winless in their last four games, three of which have ended in a goalless draw. A 2-0 defeat to Royal Antwerp, five days before their most recent stalemate last Friday with Standard Liege, means the Belgian side are also without a goal in their previous four matches.

As a result, it wouldn't be a surprise to see head coach Sebastien Pocognoli make changes to his forward line with 20-year-old Franjo Ivanovic, who hasn't scored a club goal since August 22, most likely to be demoted to the substitutes bench. He could be replaced by either Promise David or Ousseynou Niang, both of whom appeared in the second half of Friday's draw.

Fellow substitute Elton Kabangu only lasted eight minutes of that stalemate before being replaced himself so looks unlikely to be fit for Thursday's trip to Istanbul.

Top scorer Mohammed Fuseini is also out as he serves a suspension for a straight red he received in a Champions League tie with Slavia Prague last month, so former Southampton playmaker Sofiane Boufal could come in for his first Union SG start since joining at the start of the month from Al-Rayyan.

Henok Teklab is out until the new year after fracturing his leg last month, but Kevin Mac Allister - older brother of Liverpool midfielder Alexis - is available for selection again after being banned for Union SG's last game.

Fenerbahce vs Union Saint-Gilloise Odds

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Fenerbahce are 3/5 favourites on Thursday, handing the hosts an implied win probability of 62.5%, while Union SG are 9/2, or an 18.2% chance, to pick up all three points in Turkey.

The draw is priced at 3/1, both teams to score at 4/5, and over 3.5 total goals at 2/1.

To Win to Nil - Fenerbahce @ 13/8

Mourinho has experienced a mixed start to life as Fenerbahce's boss, winning six of his first 10 games but suffering the disappointment of a Champions League play-off exit and defeat to bitter rivals Galatasaray.

Before Saturday's defeat, however, Fener had won their last three matches without conceding, beating Rizespor (A) 5-0, Alanyaspor (H) 3-0, and Kasimpasa (A) 2-0. Their other victory in the Super Lig, a 1-0 win at home to Adana Demirspor, also saw them keep a clean sheet, though Mourinho has yet to see his side shut out the opposition in four European contests so far.

However, they have a golden opportunity to record their first European clean sheet under him on Thursday when they welcome a goal-shy Union SG side to the Ulker Stadium. The Belgians have played 10 matches so far this season and have blanked in six of them, while their only strike in the last six games was in second-half stoppage time against Charleroi.

With top scorer Fuseini, who himself only has two goals this term, banned for Thursday's contest, Union SG's options are bare in attack.

Meanwhile, Mourinho will be desperate to see his side get back on the clean sheet trail after shipping three goals on Saturday, and it would be very Jose to win a home game to nil in Europe.

Anytime Goal Scorer - Youssef En-Nesyri (FEN) @ 9/5

Fenerbahce made several summer signings to support Mourinho in his first season at the club, but Moroccan striker En-Nesyri was by far the most expensive, arriving from Sevilla for £16.3m.

The 27-year-old had spent the last nine years in Spain with Malaga, Leganes and Sevilla, scoring over 50 goals in La Liga, including 16 in 33 appearances last season. During his time with Sevilla, En-Nesyri won the Europa League twice - in 2020 and 2023 - netting six times in the competition - two in 2019/20, and four in 2022/23.

En-Nesyri has scored just once since moving to Turkey, however, as he has largely played second fiddle to Edin Dzeko, who has struck nine times already this term, including a consolation from the penalty spot on Saturday.

At 38-years-old, though, Dzeko needs to be kept fresh, and that should see more opportunities handed to En-Nesyri, starting on Thursday, where I expect the Morocco international to show his class and score at least once at home against an out-of-form opponent.

Offers

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