Lyon beat Sparta Prague 4-2 on aggregate in Champions League third qualifying round
Fenerbahce blanked Sturm Graz 3-0 on aggregate to reach the play-off round
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Fenerbahce have suffered a series of failures to reach the Champions League group stage or league phase in recent times and they face another tough test when they take on Lyon in the play-off round.
Les Gones are back in Champions League qualifying for the first time since progressing to the semi-finals in the tournament proper in 2019-20 and have a strong head-to-head record against the Yellow Canaries to draw upon.
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Team news
Fener head coach Ismail Kartal has choices to make after seeing his team beaten 2-1 at Genclerbirligi in their Super Lig opener, having allowed Brazilian midfielder Fred to leave the club just before that game.
Major summer signings Nathan Ake, Mason Greenwood and Vedat Muriqi all featured in that weekend reverse, while Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku is an option after completing his move from Napoli.
Les Gones had to make do without Khalis Merah (ankle) and Mads Bistrup and Pavel Sulc (both knee) for the win over Sparta Prague last week, and they are unlikely to feature on Tuesday.
Swiss defender Zachary Athekame and Belgium forward Lois Openda have been signed on season-long loan deals from AC Milan and Juventus respectively and could be included by head coach Paulo Fonseca.
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The stats
Fenerbahce forward Anderson Talisca has scored five of the six goals his side has netted in the five games they have played this season.
Fener have previously played Lyon five times and have yet to beat the French side, losing four and drawing one, and the Turkish side have not made the group stage/league phase of the Champions League since the 2008-09 season.
Lyon reached the Champions League semi-finals in both 2009-10 and 2019-20, losing on both occasions to Bayern Munich (4-0 on aggregate and 3-0 in a single match).
Les Gones have played Fener four times in the Champions League, all in the group stage and have claimed 3-1, 1-0, 4-2 and 3-1 victories.
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Prediction
Having recruited heavily in the off-season, Fener are trying to go one better than the second place in Super Lig they have had to settle for in each of the last five seasons.
However, their number of reverses in Champions League qualifiers since they last made the group stage back in 2008/09 make them very difficult to trust against a Lyon side who were semi-finalists as recently as 2020.
An unconvincing 2-1 aggregate success over Poles Gornik Zabrze saw the Turks through to the third qualifying round, when they were a little more impressive in seeing off Sturm Graz 3-0.
Lyon, who have not lost to the Yellow Canaries across five previous meetings, entered the competition at the third-round stage, where they recovered from a 2-1 first-leg loss at Sparta Prague to win 3-0 on home turf and move through to the play-off round.
Les Gones are seasoned European campaigners and look very capable of heading back to France with the tie all level and with everything left to play for.
Score prediction: Fenerbahce 1-1 Lyon
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