Crystal Palace travel to Istanbul in what is sure to be a hostile encounter away against Besiktas in the Europa League, with pressure mounting on Pierre Sage as the Eagles' manager.
Crystal Palace head into this game following a disastrous outing against Brighton & Hove Albion in the M23 Derby on Sunday, in which the Seagulls put five past a sorry Crystal Palace side. The Seagulls were 3-0 up inside the first ten minutes of the game at the weekend with Palace putting on a dismal showing for the full 90. That result now leaves Pierre Sage in a precarious position as Crystal Palace manager.
The visitors for this fixture have only picked up one win in their last five games in all competitions and that was against Nottingham Forest who are managed by Oliver Glasner. The Eagles have conceded 17 goals in the Premier League and their tactical set-up has left them defensively weak in most matches, having conceded first in four of their previous five games in all competitions. Palace were beaten in their last away fixture in this competition and are without a win away from home following the defeat at Brighton.
Besiktas lost against Trabzonspor at the weekend, which leaves their overall form at still an impressive ratio of 6 wins from 8 in all competitions. Besiktas will welcome a visit from Crystal Palace as they have won each of their last four European home matches; they have never put together a run of five straight home wins in UEFA competition.
Besiktas have picked up two impressive victories in their opening two Europa League matches against Marseille and Hoffenheim and will likely continue that run here.
Besiktas 3-1 Crystal Palace
