Lugano v Besiktas

Lugano vs Besiktas Preview

Having been dumped out of this Champions League competition in the earlier qualifying rounds, Swiss hosts, Lugano, only have this final hurdle to jump over when they entertain Besiktas in the 1st leg of their Europa League play-off tie, and the hosts head into this encounter on the back of a comprehensive 7-1 win away at Bruhl, while Besiktas collected a fifth win on the trot by way of a 4-2 home win against Antalyaspor on the weekend.

Lugano had earlier suffered a 6-4 defeat on aggregate to another Turkish club in the shape of Fenerbahce in the previous qualifying round of the Champions League but a 3-2 win on aggregate in the 3rd qualifying round of this season's Europa League has seen the Swiss hosts progress to the play-off stage of this competition.

Recent results for Lugano have generally gone in favour of the hosts as Mattia Croci-Torti's side have won eight of their last 13 matches in all competitions but there have also been a sprinkling of defeats as well, as the hosts have slipped to four losses within this period.

The goals market really appeals here though as no fewer than 10 out of Lugano's last 13 matches have also resulted in both teams scoring and this trend may well continue here on Thursday night.

Onto Besiktas and the Turkish visitors collected a fifth win on the trot and indeed, a sixth win in seven games overall on the weekend when they registered a useful 4-2 home win against Antalyaspor in the Turkish top flight and this recent impressive sequence of results is expected to stand Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side in good stead for this upcoming trip to the Stadio di Cornaredo.

Within these recent six wins, Besiktas have registered three wins on their travels with victories gained at Grazer in a 5-1 demolition in a pre-season game along with wins against Galatasaray 5-0 in the Greek Super Cup as well as a solid 2-0 win on the road at Samsunspor in the Turkish Super Lig.

The bigger picture shows Besiktas have been dealt just two defeats in their last 15 matches overall in all competitions which includes collecting nine wins along the way while goals may also feature as eight of these 15 games have resulted in both teams hitting the back of the net as well.

Having managed to capture just three wins in their last nine away games though, it may be best to steer away from the straight win markets where Besiktas are concerned!

Lugano v Besiktas Verdict

Lugano and Besiktas previously met in last season's UEFA Conference League where Besiktas won 4-3 on aggregate and another tight encounter is expected between these two sides with both teams looking likely to score.

Therefore, our main bet will be BTTS Yes @ 1.66

Other side bets worth considering:

Draw @ 3.50

Correct Score: 1-1 @ 7.00