Preview:Fenerbahce vs Feyenoord - prediction, team news, lineups

Perhaps the pick of this year's third-round ties, Fenerbahce will meet Feyenoord in Champions League qualifying, with Wednesday's first leg taking place in Istanbul.

Vying for progress to the next round - a playoff against either Club Brugge or Red Bull Salzburg - both teams are ultimately intent on reaching the league phase.

Match preview

After a year filled with plenty of controversy but no silverware, Jose Mourinho now begins his second season as Fenerbahce manager, with a return to the Champions League his first priority.

This time last summer, Fener crashed out of the qualifiers to Lille, before going on to reach the Europa League's knockout stage, where they lost to Rangers on penalties.

Meanwhile, in Turkey's Super Lig, Mourinho's men finished a distant second behind bitter rivals Galatasaray, so the pressure is on to win trophies in the upcoming campaign.

Fener's pre-season began with three straight wins in Portugal, culminating in a 4-0 victory over Al-Ittihad, before losing their unbeaten streak against Benfica.

Last week's 1-0 win over Lazio served as the final warm-up for this crucial European tie, with two legs taking place either side of their league opener at home to Alanyaspor.

First, the Istanbul giants will welcome Feyenoord to Sukru Saracoglu Stadium on Wednesday, before looking to repeat their 2016 win at De Kuip six days later.

Feyenoord sit in a similar category to their opponents, as clubs with a proud history in UEFA competition that struggle for consistent Champions League qualification - albeit they did take a seat at Europe's top table last term.

Having won two and lost two against Fenerbahce to date, the Dutch team now face a tough competitive debut for their 2025-26 campaign.

Robin van Persie returns to his old club following an impressive start to life as Feyenoord's head coach, in which he led the Rotterdam side to finish third in the Eredivisie and into the Champions League's last 16.

After being parachuted in mid-season, a tally of 22 points and a goal difference of +18 from his first eight league games represented the best opening sequence since legendary manager Ernst Happel way back in 1969.

Ahead of Saturday's top-flight opener against NAC Breda, he now takes his boyhood club into Europe, following a mixed set of results in pre-season.

A run of win-draw-loss led up to a final friendly last weekend, when Feyenoord led Wolfsburg 4-0 before a medical emergency in the stands saw the game called off with only six minutes remaining.

Fenerbahce pre-season form: W W W L W

Feyenoord pre-season form: W D L

Team News

Jose Mourinho is in the process of slimming down his Fenerbahce squad, with Brazilian centre-back Rodrigo Becao - still sidelined by an ACL injury suffered last season - on a long list of unwanted players that will not take part.

Cengiz Under, Miha Zajc, Lincoln and Emre Mor are among them; Mert Hakan Yandas and Anderson Talisca both join Becao on the treatment table.

While plans to repatriate Hakan Calhanoglu and Kerem Akturkoglu have yet to bear any fruit, new boys Jhon Duran, Archie Brown and Nelson Semedo are all in line to make their competitive debuts.

Due to doubts about the match-fitness of Justin Bijlow, Feyenoord boss Robin van Persie has confirmed that Timon Wellenreuther will start in goal on Wednesday.

Though Igor Paixao has completed his move to Marseille, Ramiz Zerrouki has rejoined Twente on loan, and David Hancko signed for Atletico Madrid, the Rotterdam club have been busy acquiring replacements.

Initial signings Sem Steijn, Luciano Valente and Gaoussou Diarra were recently joined by Jordan Bos, Anel Ahmedhodzic and Casper Tengstedt, the latter of whom scored seven times on loan at Hellas Verona last season.

He will compete with Ayase Ueda to start up front; captain Quinten Timber has returned from injury and should start in midfield.

Fenerbahce possible starting lineup: Egribayat; Muldur, Soyuncu, Oosterwolde; Semedo, Fred, Amrabat, Brown; Kahveci, Szymanski; Duran

Feyenoord possible starting lineup: Wellenreuther; Lotomba, Watanabe, Ahmedhodzic, Bos; Timber, Hwang; Hadj-Moussa, Steijn, Diarra; Ueda

We say: Fenerbahce 2-1 Feyenoord

Home advantage should count for both sides across this tie between two fiercely-supported sides, and Fener's pre-season suggests they may be quicker out of the blocks.

Jose Mourinho has made some eye-catching signings, and his team are set to take a slim lead with them to the Netherlands next week.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.