Basaksehir vs Hearts prediction: EUROPE: Europa Conference League – Group Stage betting tips on match 2022-11-02 15:30.
Although Başakşehir lost against Fiorentina last week, they remained at the top of the standings by virtue of their positive H2H record and must simply match the Italians’ result to qualify directly for the UEFA Europa Conference (UECL) round of 16 as Group A winners. The motivation is certainly there as anything less than victory leaves the hosts at risk of playing an extra play-off round.
A 3-1 Süper Lig win over Giresunspor on Monday helped Başakşehir stay in touch with the leaders. That result also helped them regain some much-needed momentum after conceding their first goals of the group stage in their most recent defeat against Fiorentina (2-1) which came despite taking an early lead in that game.
Fiorentina’s victory last week not only kept the race for top spot alive, but it also ended Hearts’ European adventure with one game to spare. With nothing but pride to play for, the Jambos will hope to sign off with a less embarrassing result than the 4-0 reverse defeat that came in what was their first-ever clash with Turkish opposition.
Perhaps a testament to their character, Hearts managed to defeat Rigas FS in the last round even though they knew their fate not long before kick-off. That 2-1 victory ended a rotten six-game winless run for the Edinburgh outfit (D1, L5) and they followed that up at the weekend with a 2-1 win at Ross County despite being “down to bare bones” in terms of available personnel according to boss Robbie Nielson.
Key battle: Described by Hearts defender Alex Cochrane as "up there with the best I've played against", Başakşehir’s Bertrand Traore scored the match opener with three of his last four strikes at club level. Trying to stop him will be Hearts keeper Craig Gordon, but he’s conceded at least twice in six of his previous eight appearances.
Hot stat: Başakşehir are unbeaten in ten of their last 11 UECL games including qualifiers (W7, D3).