Inter Turku vs Istanbul – News and Probable Lineups

In their second meeting in just over a week, Inter Turku and Istanbul Basaksehir continue their quest for a spot in the league phase of the Conference League. The visitors advanced from a first-round matchup against Sarajevo, while Thursday’s hosts entered the fray in the second qualifying round.

Both teams head into this return leg after finishing in a 1-1 draw in Turquia last week. Clinton Jephta gave the Finnish side an early advantage, but Emin Bayram equalized shortly after the second-half kick-off for Nuri Sahin’s squad.

Match overview

Located in the Finnish city of Turku, Inter secured their place in the Conference League qualifiers by finishing second in the Veikkausliiga last season, marking their first return to European qualifying since their first-round exit to Drita in 2022.

For over twenty years, they had not secured a European tie win on aggregate until they faced Sarajevo earlier this month. However, Vesa Vasara’s men broke that streak with a 2-1 home victory following a 1-1 draw in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This 3-2 aggregate success secured their position in the second qualifying round, driven by a late goal from Jephta, who also found the net in last week’s first leg against Istanbul Basaksehir.

Since then, Inter has returned to league play as they strive for only their second Finnish top-flight title, the last time being in 2008.

Nevertheless, their title aspirations hit a bump with a 2-1 loss against Gnistan, enabling league leaders KuPS to pull five points ahead after 17 matches.

On the other hand, Thursday’s visitors arrive in Finlândia still in search of their first competitive win since clinching a final-day victory over Gaziantep in May, a match that left the Grey Owls painfully close to earning a Europa League qualifying spot.

Even though they lost just once in their last eight Super Lig encounters last season, Sahin’s team ultimately finished 20 points behind the champions, with a consecutive fifth-place finish extending their wait for another league title to six years.

Basaksehir geared up for their European campaign with five pre-season friendly matches and entered last week’s first leg with back-to-back victories, including a notable 2-1 win over RB Salzburg.

As Sahin starts his first full season in charge, the hope is their defensive strength can lay the groundwork for success.

Last season, only two teams conceded fewer than Basaksehir’s 35 goals across 34 Super Lig matches.

Team News

Vasara is anticipated to field the same starting XI that secured a respectable draw in Turquia, as there are no new injury issues following the weekend’s league match.

Alie Conteh was in the starting lineup for the first leg before coming on as a substitute in Sunday’s league defeat, where he successfully converted a penalty. Therefore, he is likely to maintain his spot in attack.

Although Ilari Kangasniemi received a red card in Inter’s latest league game, this suspension does not extend to UEFA competitions, so the defender will be available once more.

Jephta has netted only two goals this season, yet both have proven crucial in Inter’s Conference League journey, and he is expected to retain his position on the wing.

Basaksehir also has the advantage of naming an unchanged lineup and arrives in better form after not playing since last week’s first leg.

Sahin is likely to continue with the 4-2-3-1 formation that benefited his team in Istanbul, maintaining first-leg goalscorer Bayram in central defense.

Inter Turku probable starting XI:

Huuhtanen; Saarinen, Kuittinen, Kangasniemi, Niska; Tuominen, Laine, Ampofo; Essomba, Conteh, Jephta

Istanbul Basaksehir probable starting XI:

Sengezer; Sahiner, Bayram, Ba, Karbownik; Gunes, Kemen; San, Shomurodov, Brnic; Yildrim

The first leg demonstrated how evenly matched these two teams are, and another competitive fixture appears likely in Finlândia.

Nevertheless, Basaksehir is expected to show improvement over last week’s performance and, with their additional European experience and deeper squad, we anticipate they will narrowly secure victory in a tense match, with extra time potentially becoming a factor.