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Royal Union SG will welcome Fenerbahce to Lotto Park for the first leg of their UEFA Europa Conference League round-of-16 tie on Thursday.
The home side are coming off a routine away victory over Leuven in the Jupiler League on Saturday. Ross Sykes and Casper Terho scored in either half to guide their side to victory.
Fenerbahce, meanwhile, also triumphed over Hatayspor by the same scoreline away from home in the Turkish Super Lig. Nigeria international Bright Osayi-Samuel broke the deadlock in the 25th minute while Cengiz Under added a second in the 40th minute.
The Canaries will turn their focus to the continent and booked their spot at this stage as Group H winners. Royal Union dropped from the Europa League and qualified with a 4-3 aggregate victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the playoff. A 2-2 draw at home was followed by a 2-1 away win in Germany.
Royal Union SG vs Fenerbahce Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- This will be the first meeting between the two sides.
- Fenerbahce have lost just one of their last 19 competitive games, winning 15 games in this sequence.
- Eight of the 11 goals Royal Union have conceded in Europe this season have come in the first half.
- Fenerbahce are unbeaten in their last six games against Belgian opposition (four wins) and have lost just one of eight head-to-head games against clubs from Belgium.
- Royal Union are currently on a seven-game unbeaten run in all competitions and have won their last five games on the bounce.
- Fenerbahce have scored at least two goals in seven of their last eight competitive games.
Royal Union SG vs Fenerbahce Prediction
Relative upstarts Royal Union have continued to punch above their weight both domestically and on the continent. Alexander Blessin's side have an eight-point advantage at the summit of the Jupiler League and are also aiming for a second successive quarterfinal in Europe.
Fenerbahce, for their part, are also competing for glory domestically and have more pedigree on the continent than their hosts. However, they will be wary of the threat posed by their hosts, who overturned a two-goal deficit against 2022 Europa League champions Frankfurt to get here.
We are backing the home side to claim a narrow victory in a high-scoring game.
Prediction: Royal Union 3-2 Fenerbahce
Royal Union SG vs Fenerbahce Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Royal Union to win
Tip 2 - Both teams to score
Tip 3 - Over 2.5 goals
Tip 4 - Royal Union to score over 1.5 goals
