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Royal Antwerp will host Istanbul Basaksehir at the Bosuilstadion on Thursday in the second leg of their UEFA Europa Conference League playoffs tie.
The Belgian outfit have enjoyed a brilliant start to life under new boss Mark van Bommel, sitting atop the Jupiler Pro League table and on the hunt for European football. They played out a 1-1 draw in the first leg, with Dinis Almeida scoring a late equalizer.
Royal Antwerp have featured in back-to-back European tournament group stages and will be targeting a third appearance this season.
Istanbul Basaksehir have also begun their season in strong fashion, seeing off Maccabi Netanya and Breidablik Kopavogur in the second and third qualifying rounds respectively.
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The Turkish side struggled to impress in the first leg on home turf and will now hope to put out a much better performance this week.
Royal Antwerp vs Istanbul Basaksehir Head-to-Head
Thursday's game will mark just the second meeting between the two sides, with the first leg clash marking their maiden matchup.
With the away goal rule no longer in play, their midweek clash must produce a winner.
Royal Antwerp Form Guide (All Competitions): D-W-W-W-W
Istanbul Basaksehir Form Guide (All Competitions): W-D-D-W-W
Royal Antwerp vs Istanbul Basaksehir Team News
Royal Antwerp
Michel-Ange Balikwisha picked up an injury earlier this month and will miss Thursday's game as a result. Bjorn Engles is also injured and will not feature for the home side.
Injured: Bjorn Engles, Michel-Ange Balikwisha
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Istanbul Basaksehir
Mustafa Kutay Peksen has been ruled out of the midweek clash due to an injury and is the only absentee for the visitors. Mesut Ozil made his debut for the Grey Owls at the weekend and will be hoping for more minutes here.
Injured: Mustafa Kutay Peksen
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Royal Antwerp vs Istanbul Basaksehir Predicted XI
Royal Antwerp Predicted XI (4-3-3): Jean Butez; Ritchie De Laet, Toby Alderweireld, William Pacho, Sam Vines; Alhassan Yusuf, Radja Nainggolan, Pieter Gerkens; Koji Miyoshi, Michael Frey, Anthony Valencia
Istanbul Basaksehir Predicted XI (4-3-3): Volkan Babacan; Hasan Ali Kaldirim, Leo Duarte, Youssouf Ndayishimiye, Sener Ozbayrakli; Mahmut Tekdemir, Lucas Biglia, Berkay Ozcan; Deniz Turuc, Stefan Okaka, Serdar Gurler
Royal Antwerp vs Istanbul Basaksehir Prediction
Royal Antwerp are on a 12-game unbeaten streak across all competitions and will head into the midweek game in top form. They have not lost a competitive game on home turf this season and will be looking forward to this one.
Istanbul Basaksehir are in brilliant form themselves, having gone unbeaten in their last 17 matches across all competitions. With both sides in solid form, their midweek clash could be decided on penalties.
Prediction: Royal Antwerp 1-1 Istanbul Basaksehir
