Turkish duo Fenerbahçe and Sivasspor will begin the last leg of their journey to clinch UEFA Europa League group stage spots, while Başakşehir will be fighting for a place in the Europa Conference League as the playoffs begin Thursday.
Istanbul heavyweight Fenerbahçe will hit the road for Austria Wien as it looks to secure an advantage in the playoff first leg.
The Yellow Canaries are on a high since handing a crushing 6-0 defeat to Kasımpaşa in their last Süper Lig match. Now, it will want to carry that form into the second-tier European club competition.
Earlier, Fenerbahçe defeated Czech outfit Slovacko 3-0 in the first match of the third qualifying round, before drawing the away leg 1-1 to reach the playoffs.
Coach Jorge Jesus' disciples will want to return to Kadıköy with a score advantage and reach the UEFA Europa League group stages.
They will be boosted by the arrival of the latest Fenerbahçe transfer Ezgjan Alioski, who has been named in the squad for the first time.
Alioski will likely make his debut for the club if coach Jesus gives him an opportunity.
Fenerbahçe midfielders Irfan Can Kahveci and Mert Hakan are also expected to return to the squad after recovering from injuries.
Both players trained with the main squad Wednesday after completing their recovery program.
The match at Vienna's Viola Park will kick off at 10 p.m. Istanbul time (7 p.m. GMT) and will be officiated by German referee Daniel Siebert.
Turkish Cup winner Sivasspor, in the meanwhile, will travel to Sweden for its playoff first-leg against Malmö.
Sivasspor's start to the season has been a bag of mixed results. It lost the Turkish Super Cup, the traditional season opener, against league champion Trabzonspor.
It opened the domestic league campaign with a 1-1 draw against Gaziantep before a 3-0 loss against Adana Demirspor.
Sivasspor will be without Turkish right back Murat Paluli, who is out injured, in the match against Malmö.
Süper Lig side Başakşehir, who finished the 2021-22 season as fourth, continues its continental campaign as it hosts Belgium's Royal Antwerp F.C. in the UEFA Europa Conference League playoff first-leg Thursday.
Başakşehir made an early start to the 2022-23 season, fighting through the qualifying rounds of the newly introduced European third-tier club competition.
It opened the campaign against Israeli side Maccabi Netanya in the second qualifying round. After a 1-1 draw at home in Istanbul, Başakşehir fought back in the second leg, picking up a narrow 1-0 win to move to the next round.
In the third qualifying round, coach Emre Belözoğlu's side faced Iceland's Breidablik, who was beaten comprehensively in both legs – 3-1 in Iceland and 3-0 in Türkiye.
The Turkish team also made a flying start to the domestic league season, picking up a 4-0 win in the opening match against Kasımpaşa, before settling for a 0-0 draw on Monday.
The club has reinvented itself under Belözoğlu, who took over in October 2021. It has won 21 out of 37 games while drawing 11 and losing only five after his arrival.
This will be Başakşehir's fifth European game under the player-turned-coach. A win in the match will earn the club a place in the Conference League group stages.
Başakşehir does not have any major injury concerns but will be without its latest signing Mesut Özil, who joined the team last month from Fenerbahçe.
French referee Jerome Brisard will officiate the match, which will kick off at 8:45 p.m. Istanbul time (5:45 p.m. GMT).
