Wales and Turkey meet at the Baku Olympic Stadium in Azerbaijan in a huge Euro 2020 contest on matchday two in Group A.

The Dragons earned a 1-1 draw against Switzerland in their opening match, while Turkey were well beaten 3-0 by co-hosts Italy.

Match preview

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Rob Page accepted that Wales were somewhat fortunate to come away from their match against Switzerland on Saturday with a potentially vital point.

La Nati had double the number of shots than Wales and should have added to their lead after Breel Embolo had opened the scoring early in the second half.

However, some fine saves from Danny Ward kept the Dragons in the game and Kieffer Moore justified his selection by heading in an equaliser for Wales in the blistering Baku heat.

That leaves Wales in a decent position after the first set of fixtures in Group A, with a victory against Turkey on Wednesday effectively enough to seal a place in the last 16.

A defeat to a Turkey side that will be heavily supported in Azerbaijan, however, and all that will change.

The Crescent-Stars were backed as the tournament dark horses by many, but they failed to turn up against Italy in the opening game of the competition last Friday.

After holding firm during the first half, a Merih Demiral own goal opened the floodgates as further strikes from Ciro Immobile and Lorenzo Insigne followed at the Stadio Olimpico.

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That ended a run of six games without a defeat for Turkey, though Senol Gunes's men have not lost back-to-back matches since Mircea Lucescu was at the helm in November 2018.

Turkey also boast an impressive record against Wales, last losing in this fixture in 1981 when Gunes was in goal for the home side.

In fact, Page was also on the field when Wales last met Turkey some 24 years ago - a game that finished 6-4 in the Crescent-Stars' favour.

A similar high-scoring affair is not expected this time around, but both sides would happily accept a narrow one-goal victory if offered to them ahead of this latest encounter.

Team News

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Page's big selection calls ultimately paid off against Switzerland, with Ward and Moore justifying their starting spots.

The interim Wales boss also elected to revert to a back four, as opposed to the back three used in the warm-up games, and that will likely remain the case here.

Harry Wilson is pushing for a recall in attack, with that selection call possibly depending on whether Aaron Ramsey can play twice in quick succession.

Ethan Ampadu and David Brooks, introduced from the bench against Switzerland, are two others pushing for recalls to the starting lineup on Wednesday.

As for Turkey, Gunes will surely be tempted to make some changes on the back of the heavy loss to Italy, with his side providing very little attacking threat.

Cengiz Under, Irfan Can Kahveci and Kaan Ayhan are all in contention to return to the side, but Burak Yilmaz is expected to retain his place up top.

Ozan Kabak was an unused substitute against Italy, though Caglar Soyuncu and Demiral seem likely to get the nod at centre-back once again.

Turkey possible starting lineup:
Cakir; Celik, Demiral, Soyuncu; Meras; Under, Yazici, Yokuslu, Kahveci, Calhanoglu; Yilmaz

Wales possible starting lineup:
Ward; Roberts, Mepham, Rodon, Davies; Allen, Morrell; Bale, Ramsey, James; Moore

We say: Turkey 1-1 Wales

Group A was always likely to be dominated by draws with so many similarly-ranked nations - heavyweights Italy aside - facing off.

Both teams will be targeting three points from this match, but we can see the points being shared in Baku on Wednesday - a result that will keep the group wide open.

Written by
Daniel Lewis

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