Well, after great speculation regarding the regulations imposed on travelling Aston Villa supporters by the Turkish authorities, I made the decision to draw the line on attending this fixture.
Whilst watching Villa fans on social media having a party as we speak is giving me FOMO, tomorrow’s proceedings including the planned two hour hold back may cause that emotion to be quickly discarded.
Fenerbahçe SK currently sit 2nd in the Turkish Süper Lig, and look to beat Aston Villa to strengthen their chances of direct qualification to the knockout stages of the competition, with the help of some faces very familiar to B6.
The big one obviously being Jhon Duran, who has had his suspension overturned meaning he is available for tomorrow evening’s clash in Istanbul. I cannot think of any other demeanour other than him being out to brutally haunt us, as something tells me he left on very sour terms and was a huge problem in our dressing room.
Meanwhile, a friendlier face in Marco Asensio also will be available for selection tomorrow, someone who we could probably use on our wing right now, although I am hoping Bailey will be available for selection either tomorrow or Sunday’s clash in Tyneside.
Finally, another player who is registered for Fenerbahçe is Diego Carlos, despite being out on loan.
Well, I thought the reaction of most of our fan base following Sunday’s disastrous home defeat was well amplified on this forum, with it almost seeming as if fans had forgot the losing feeling to a team that we should be beating. Sod’s Law really does exist, Everton haven’t beaten us in the Premiership since I believe 2016, and then they go and beat us to prevent us going second and four points from the top of the shop, which reminds me of the draw to Sheffield United, only salvaged by a last minute Zaniolo header (remember him?) two seasons ago, following 1-0 home victories against both Man City and Arsenal.
I think what plays on everyone’s mind is our newly founded injury crisis. With Boubacar Kamara out for the season, McGinn recently injured, and Onana and Barkley made of the weakest form of glass, we could very easily get overrun in midfield, allowing Fenerbahçe to thread balls through to Duran, who we know is very capable of bullying centre-halves. With Pau Torres prone to being bullied to physical players, I can imagine Jhon Duran giving our backline a run for their money, and I really think it is about keeping their most prolific players quiet.
Team news – Starting with the home side, Fenerbahce trio Archie Brown, Levent Mercan and Sebastian Szymanski all remain sidelined with injuries, while January signings Matteo Guendouzi, Anthony Musaba and Mert Gunok are all ineligible for the Europa League until the knockout rounds.
As for Aston Villa, John Mcginn was taken off with a knee injury in the first half of Sunday’s defeat to Everton and will join Boubacar Kamara and Ross Barkley in the treatment room. (As per sportsmole)
As for Onana, I heard he has made the trip to Istanbul with the rest of the team, which could be a positive for our midfield. If Guessand is in talks to leave the club, it begs the question whether he will be selected for this fixture. Martinez too, agents in Italy, just get him gone at this point, he is very clearly uninterested and I’m bored of even discussing it.
Having said all of that, I am going to remain positive and go for a 1-2 Villa win, although this could very easily end a draw and the hosts will be no pushover. I am hoping Villa fans stay safe and avoid a massive holdback. UTV!
Their manager has talked us up. Does that mean he’s worried or Confident?
I don’t have a clue.
I’ll take a 1-1 draw.
Then again I can see a win too, but we all know how that sort of daft prediction went on Sunday 🙁
Duran from range…
If we leave with a point, I’ll be delighted.
Mateta talks hotting up. Also Loftus-Bumcheeks, or just Bumcheeks to his friends, DM stats are meant to be outstanding. And get a move on with Tammy!!!!
No idea on this afternoons score. I’d take a draw too.
Don’t forget the 5.45 KO!!!!!
“The latest edition of the Deloitte Football Money League has Villa ranked as the 14th highest-earning club in Europe last year after recording club-record income totalling more than £390m.
That was an increase of more than £120m on the previous season and saw the club rise four places in the Money League table, up from 18th and above Premier League rivals Newcastle and West Ham”
It’s exactly why I keep saying we need to prioritise CL qually over everything else.
https://www.expressandstar.com/sport/2026/01/22/aston-villa-and-wolves-both-climb-footballs-money-league-as-club-record-figures-revealed/
Imagine if the CL place hadn’t been robbed from us at Old Trafford…
Yes. A fix. And kudos to Mr Heck. He did his job.
I rated him. He earned Celtic a fortune.
Reference Deloittes list – MOMS recent piece is saying that for the 24 / 25 season our wage to turnover bill dropped from over 90% to 71% – under the deal with UEFA we have to ve below 80%. Moving from PSR to SRC in the EPL next season should help as the change from one to the other is reasonably soft and if we qualify for CL it should solve our financial issues. So expect us to move in this transfer window
If this is the reality, our management team behind the scenes needs a massive round of applause. It shows how any business needs to look at the holistic approach.
At the Emirates, decisions and injuries went against us. Not to mention Watkins’ misses.
At Palace, we should have had a stonewall penalty.
Against Everton, we simply shouldn’t be losing. And a huge decision went against us.
IF we had taken 5 points from those three games, including a draw at Arsenal, we’d be LEVEL with the Gunners on 48 points. That’s with a draw against them and Everton and a gritty 1-0 against Palace, not even beating Everton.
The margins are so fine and it comes down to refereeing decisions, injuries to key players, and missed chances. Pretty much the same story as last season. We need a finisher. We need the officials to be fair. And we need to bolster the midfield to cover Kamara and McGinn.
Can they do it? The transfers are in the club’s hands. With the officiating, I would write a letter of complaint to the PL and make it public, highlighting the costly errors. Put some pressure on.
Need to regroup and go again. This time of year is always sticky. Look at Citeh.
I think we’ll take a couple of risks in this window to reinforce the squad and sort out any PSR problems in June – the objective being to consolidate our position in the top 5 and qualify for the CL
Be buzzing with a draw tonight big jhon might come back to haunt us tho cracking player with a big future if he can get his attitude right
I think we are spending too much time on a very complicated Abraham transfer. It looks like bad news on the McGinn injury so a midfielder is mega urgent. Why is it our recent recruitment seems to take much longer than other clubs? It’s painstaking checking for updates, only to find that nothing new has happened.
As for today’s game, I’m more concerned about us getting more injuries rather than a result.
On the other hand, if we get a win, we qualify and can play the stiffs for the last group game. Should they go all out for 3 points? Unai always plays for a win, anyway so what are we discussing?
I saw a comment that suggests McGinn might also be out for the rest of the season – I just hope not as losing both Kamara and McGinn might be a hill just too big to climb.
if Onana gets back and completes the season, and we get one in, it should be OK. Assuming we sign someone who can also hit the back of the net on a regular basis. Ollie has become like the proverbial box of chocolates…
Problem being McGinn is such an integral part of the squad, somewhat irreplaceable because of how unique of a player he is.
Bizot, Cash, Lindelof, Mings (c), Digne, Bogarde, Tielemans, Rogers, Buendia, Sancho, Watkins
Pau, Konsa, Maatson, Garcia, Onana on the bench plus 5 academy players.
Emery thinking about Saturday – I’m concerned we could be overrun tonight – and banking on a win in our last Europa game at VP?
Courageous, risky or ………..?
It’s not that far off our usual first team lineup Hitch???
Actually, it’s probably better than I was expecting and only McGinn and Kamara are the big losses, imo.
Mings coming in for such a big game is a bit concerning, but otherwise, I’m okay with the team
Not courageous or risky.
Just no choice.
Yeah, you’re probably right Badger – it’s those ‘big’ two missing in the centre of the park.
I still think even a point would be an excellent result.
Oops, I forgot Youri, He’s a big loss too.
? – Tielemans is in the starting line up and Onana is on the bench
Even better!
I should read properly. I thought he was out.
Dean Smith has confirmed he’s offered Elliott games at Charlotte in the MSL between now and the World Cup break if he wants them and Villa / Liverpool agree.
I think he should go if the clubs cannot reach an accord as, it seems, Liverpool are not going to take him back until the summer.
Better to play than not play.
All they have to do is renegotiate the loan without the obligation to buy. Villa get a good player. Elliott stays in the PL. And Liverpool put their asset in the shop window before the summer. Why is that so difficult FFS. 🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️
If McGinn is out for the rest of the season then it’s a massive blow, his unique impact on the team is irreplaceable.
Villa fans all in the stadium too, hours early. Motorway packed with coaches if you saw that image online.
Fenerbache – 18 games unbeaten and just won the Turkish Cup 2-0; second overall un Turkish League with a top striker (as well as Duran) plus Asensio with highest number of assists.
I just so wanted Asensio to join us in the summer!
To get anything from tonight’s game is going to need both an exceptional performance and luck on our side.
He looks good, Asensio.
We’re being bullied already. They are terrified. Buendia in the first 2 mins I had no words for that.
I think we look organised.
I hate seeing us resign to being out strengthened though.
Sick to DEATH of Watkins!!!
I take it back, blatant foul.
Rogers fouls Semeda and we get away with it.
Wonders will never cease!
I think we need to beat their crowd more than their team,
Great tackle by Buendia, we’re growing into this.
Buendia looking good and they look iffy at corners.
They look dodgy clearing it out.
I’m interested. Do you think the referee should’ve gone back and give that after advantage? Personally I think not.
Get the F*** in! Sancho header.
A header? Isn’t Sancho about 5 foot when standing on a Yellow Pages???
Get in! What a great goal and well deserved! Nice play by Watkins too.
Fenerbahce defender’s poor header also played a part.
Tielemens is putting it about a bit. Our new enforcer?
I am impressed with a lot of players tonight.
Fenerbahce players excellent at throwing themselves to the ground.
Sancho, Buendia look really up for this.
Yep. Duran has been a punchbag all game.
Buendia is doing OK but his decision-making is far too slow.