Fenerbahçe v Zorya background
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Article summary
Fenerbahçe can make it through to the round of 32 with a game to spare with the right combination of results on matchday five, with Zorya fighting for survival in Istanbul.
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Fenerbahçe will hope that ten points is enough to confirm them as one of the qualifiers from UEFA Europa League Group A as they welcome win-less Zorya on matchday five.
• If Fenerbahçe win in Istanbul and Manchester United lose at home to Feyenoord, Fenerbahçe are through.
• If Feyenoord win they are through.
• Zorya must win to stay in contention.
• If Feyenoord and Fenerbahçe both win, United and Zorya will both be out.
Previous meetings
• Simon Kjær scored a 95th-minute equaliser in Ukraine as Fenerbahçe earned a 1-1 draw in the sides' first UEFA competition meeting – and Zorya's maiden encounter with Turkish opposition – on matchday one.
• Fenerbahçe have not won in seven games (D4 L3) against Ukrainian teams. All three of the Yellow Canaries' home encounters with Ukrainian clubs have ended in draws: a 2-2, then two 0-0s.
Form guide
• Fenerbahçe are unbeaten in eight European home matches (W7 D1), including wins in the last six.
• Zorya have lost their last three UEFA away fixtures, including 1-0 defeats in both away assignments in Group A, a section in which they have yet to score more than once in any game.
• Semi-finalists in 2012/13, Fenerbahçe successfully negotiated all four of their previous UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League group stage campaigns.
• This is Zorya's maiden UEFA group stage foray.
Links and trivia
• The journey from Odessa, where Zorya are playing their European matches, to Istanbul is around 625km across the Black Sea.
• Fenerbahçe midfielder Jeremain Lens turns 29 on the day of the game. He played in Ukraine from 2013–15 with Dynamo Kyiv, but did not score in four outings against Zorya.
The coaches
• Dick Advocaat is in his first term with Fenerbahçe. The one-time Oranje coach has amassed domestic league titles in the Netherlands (with PSV), Scotland (Rangers) and Russia (Zenit), having also led Zenit to glory in the 2007/08 UEFA Cup.
• Yuriy Vernydub has been in charge at Zorya since stepping up from his role as assistant coach in November 2011. A Russian Cup winner with Zenit in 1999, towards the end of his playing career, he steered Zorya to a fourth-placed finish in Ukraine last season.
• Vernydub's son Vitaliy is also playing in this season's group stage with Azerbaijani side Gabala.