Besiktas vs Club Brugge KV prediction: EUROPE: Europa Conference League – Group Stage betting tips on match 2023-11-29 17:45.
After picking up just one point in their opening four UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL) group stage rounds in a run bookended by back-to-back defeats against Bodø/Glimt, qualification is already beyond Beşiktaş. The Turkish outfit will hope to end that sour streak here as they look to avoid registering just a second-ever winless UEFA group stage, and a very first outside of the Champions League.
The hosts may take stock from the fact that their sole point was claimed against Club Brugge on the opening matchday, the first stalemate in this fixture’s short history (BES: W1, D1, L2). Any source of confidence will be welcome for the Black Eagles, who have lost their last two home games against Belgian opponents and have won only two of their last 11 UEFA group stage outings (L9). Some way off the pace in their domestic league, they’ve at least won their two league games since their last outing in the UECL.
Sitting pretty at the top of Group D, Brugge can take another step towards direct qualification for the last 16 by extending their unbeaten group stage run to date (W3, D1). An impressively solid record against Turkish opponents suggest they won’t make this easy for the hosts (W3, D5, L2), although just one of their three victories came on Turkish soil (W1, D2, L2).
It’s just as well that Brugge fans have something to cheer about this season as they sit some way off the title pace in the Belgian Pro League, despite a win at the weekend. Even so, a strong performance in this competition will have been largely expected from a side who have spent the last five seasons in the Champions League group stage, and that arguably goes some way to explaining their poor European away record across the last 15 trips (W3, D4, L8).
Key battle: Beşiktaş defender Omar Colley played six times against Brugge during his spell with Belgian outfit Genk, although he kept just one clean sheet during that time (W2, D3, L1). He’ll be trying to stop the likes of Brugge’s Hans Vanaken, who has scored a goal in all four UECL group games in this campaign, picking up two Flashscore man of the match accolades along the way.
Hot stat: Only Astana (15) have picked up more than Brugge’s 14 yellow cards across four UECL group games (3.5 on average).