Preview: Fenerbahce vs Aston Villa - prediction, team news, lineups

Fresh from last weekend’s setback in the Premier League, Aston Villa will endeavour to return to winning ways when they travel to Turkey to face Fenerbahce in their penultimate League Phase fixture in the Europa League on Thursday night.

The two teams butt heads for the first time since the first round of the 1977-78 UEFA Cup when Villa claimed an emphatic 6-0 aggregate victory on their way to reaching the quarter-finals.

Match preview

After winning 11 matches in a row at Villa Park in all competitions and scoring 23 goals in the process, Aston Villa came up short in a disappointing 1-0 home defeat to Everton on Sunday and missed the opportunity to move to within four points of Premier League leaders Arsenal.

Villa failed to convert any of their 18 shots on goal in a Premier League game for the first time since October 2022 and few would have been surprised to see Unai Emery visibly downbeat after the full-time whistle. However, many were perplexed with the Spaniard’s post-match comments, claiming that his side are “not contenders” for a top-five finish as there are “other teams with more potential than us”.

Sitting third in the table and nine points ahead of Chelsea in sixth, Villa travel to Newcastle for their next top-flight fixture at the weekend, but they must first shift their focus to their Europa League battle with Fenerbahce, as they attempt to all but secure automatic last-16 qualification with a game to spare (facing Red Bull Salzburg on matchday eight at the end of the month).

Villa are already one of six Europa League teams who are guaranteed at least a knockout round playoffs place, as they currently sit third in the 36-team standings - level on points with table-toppers Lyon and second-placed Midtjylland - after accumulating 15 points from their first six games (W5 L1).

Emery’s men most recently beat Basel 2-1 in Switzerland on December 11 and Villa will back themselves to claim another three points on Thursday, as they have won four of their previous six encounters with Turkish opposition, scoring 11 goals and conceding only three in the process.

After concluding 2025 with a 2-1 home defeat to Besiktas in the Turkish Cup, Fenerbahce have kick-started 2026 on a positive note with four wins out of four in all competitions, including a 2-0 triumph over Galatasaray in the Turkish Super Cup final.

The Yellow Canaries remain in contention to lift their first Super Lig title since 2014, after a 3-2 victory against Alanyaspor on Sunday moved them to within one point of leaders Galatasaray, while it also preserved their impressive unbeaten record in the division after 18 games this season (W12 D6 L0).

In the Europa League, Domenico Tedesco’s side have picked up 11 points from their six League Phase fixtures, with a matchday one defeat to Dinamo Zagreb (3-1) followed by a three wins and two draws to give them a strong chance of securing at least a top-24 finish.

Automatic last-16 qualification is also not out of Fenerbahce’s reach, after a thumping 4-0 win away against Brann on December 11 helped them to climb up to 12th in the 36-team table, just two points behind the top eight with two games against Aston Villa and FCSB left to play.

Fenerbahce have faced English opposition 20 times in their history and they have only celebrated victory four times (D2 L11), most recently beating Manchester United 2-1 on home soil in the 2016-17 Europa League group stage.

Fenerbahce Europa League form:

Fenerbahce form (all competitions):

Aston Villa Europa League form:

Aston Villa form (all competitions):

Team News

Fenerbahce trio Archie Brown (toe), Levent Mercan (muscle) and Sebastian Szymanski (groin) 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.

The hosts could line up with two former Aston Villa players in their first XI, as Jhon Duran is in contention to lead the line, which would allow Talisca to move back into midfield, while Marco Asensio could be deployed in a central role or out wide.

Former Premier League players Ederson, Nelson Semedo, Fred and Edson Alvarez are also available to start, while star winger Kerem Akturkoglu should retain is starting spot after scoring a team-high four goals in six Europa League games this term.

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, Ross Barkley (both knee) and Amadou Onana (thigh) in the treatment room.

January signing Alysson is ineligible for the Europa League until the knockout rounds, while Jadon Sancho will be assessed ahead of kickoff after missing the loss to Everton through illness.

Emery will weigh up whether to start Marco Bizot between the sticks at the expense of first-choice goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, while defensive trio Victor Lindelof, Tyrone Mings and Lucas Digne will all be hoping to force their way back into the first XI at the expense of Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres ad Ian Maatsen.

In the absence of McGinn, either Sancho - if fit - or Evann Guessand could deputise on the right flank, as Emiliano Buendia continues on the left, while Morgan Rogers is set to operate in an advanced role behind striker Ollie Watkins, who is yet to score in six Europa League matches this season.

Fenerbahce possible starting lineup:

Ederson; Semedo, Skriniar, Oosterwolde, Muldur; Fred, Yuksek, Talisca; Asensio, Duran, Akturkoglu

Aston Villa possible starting lineup:

Bizot; Cash, Lindelof, Konsa, Digne; Bogarde, Tielemans; Guessand, Rogers, Buendia; Watkins

We say: Fenerbahce 2-2 Aston Villa

An intriguing contest between two of the Europa League’s strongest teams is set to be played out in Istanbul, and Fenerbahce’s recent run of form should provide them with a real confidence boost in a game they arguably need to win more than their opponents.

Villa may be dealing with a bit of fatigue, but they should still have enough quality on display to claim at least a point from an entertaining score draw.

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