Feyenoord vs Fenerbahce Prediction, 02:00 August 7: Waiting for Mourinho

Pre-match comments Feyenoord vs Fenerbahce

Fenerbahce are runners-up in Türkiye, but are not a very strong team in Europe. Last season, Fenerbahce lost to Lille in the final of the Champions League qualifying round and had to accept being relegated to the Europa League.

This scenario is very likely to repeat itself, even if Fenerbahce had a coach who is known as the “king of cup competitions” like Jose Mourinho. The reason is that the Turkish representative fell into a very difficult group. In the semi-finals, they faced Dutch club Feyenoord. If they win, Fenerbahce will meet Nice or Benfica in the final of the qualifying round. These are all clubs that are rated higher than them.

Even experts believe that Fenerbahce will have a hard time overcoming Feyenoord in the semi-finals. After losing Arne Slot to Liverpool, Feyenoord had a difficult start to last season and was mired in crisis. However, they have strongly revived after appointing Robin van Persie to replace Brian Priske in February 2025.

Under Robin van Persie, Feyenoord have picked up 22 points from their first eight league games, with a goal difference of +18. This run of form has seen Feyenoord climb straight to third place and secure a place in the qualifying rounds of this season's Champions League.

Feyenoord have been preparing well for the match against Fenerbahce. Last weekend, they crushed Wolfsburg 4-0 and showed impressive attacking ability with striker Ueda.

However, coach Robin van Persie faces a big challenge when he loses the pillars in all three lines: Hancko, Milambo and Igor Paixao. These stars moved to Atletico Madrid, Brentford and Marseille respectively with a total transfer fee of 80 million euros, and were only replaced by cheaper players.

On the other hand, Fenerbahce has recruited a series of bright stars to serve the intentions of coach Jose Mourinho, including Jhon Duran, Archie Brown, Nelson Semedo. In addition to long-term contracts with Milan Skriniar and Amrabat, Fenerbahce currently owns a fairly high-quality squad.

In theory, Fenerbahce are better. However, they play quite poorly away from home. It is possible that Mourinho's team will try to draw with Feyenoord in the Netherlands and have a decisive match at home in the second leg.

Form, head-to-head history Feyenoord vs Fenerbahce