Fenerbahçe Champions League match preview

By: j | November 24th, 2008

Jesualdo Ferreira Dragões face Fenerbahçe at Istanbul’s Sükrü Saraçoglu with qualification on the line. With Porto lodged in second place two points behind Arsenal, one about Dynamo Kyiv and four above their hosts, they know a victory would not only sink Fenerbahçe’s dreams but could land them at the top of the table.

Porto should be well rested for the match with significant rest whilst Fenerbahçe is coming off a poor scoreless draw against Ankaragücü that is far from convincing of their abilities. Selçuk Şahin and Diego Lugano are both suspended for the the match and Turkish international Semih Şentürk is injured with Robert Carlos questionable. Key to their attack will be whirlwind Kâzım Kâzım who continues to develop into a top-shelf Footballer.

All is not perfect for Porto as well given that ex-Rapid Bucureşti man Cristian Săpunaru is out with an injury and Lucho González is suspended for a foolish late yellow card in the previous Champions League match. It is worthy to note that the Huracán-product foolishly pulled his shirt off in celebration in the Dynamo Kyiv comeback and effectively cancelled himself out of this key match in an inexcusable, unprofessional decision.

As Porto looks towards this match they must balance between playing in-front one of the most challenging environments with a team facing a do-or-die situation along with the knowledge that a victory could see them at the top of their group.

Porto will have the following players available for the match:

Bruno Alves, Farías, Fernando, Fucile, Guarin, Helton, Hulk, Lino, Lisandro, Mariano, Nuno, Pedro Emanuel, Pelé, Raul Meireles, Rodríguez, Rolando, Stepanov, Tarik Sektioui and Tomás Costa.

I will report on this match as it concludes.