Basaksehir and Inter Turku poised for tight first-leg battle

The first leg of the UEFA Conference League second qualifying round continues in the early hours of Thursday, with Inter Turku travelling to face Basaksehir. Both sides have been in decent overall form recently, and this meeting looks likely to end level.

Basaksehir are a strong side. Over the past 10 years, they have finished outside the top five in the Turkish Super Lig only once, and they also won the league title in the 2019-20 season. The team have built up solid European experience in recent years. During the offseason, Basaksehir signed last season's top scorer Eldor Shomurodov on a permanent deal and also brought in defenders such as Ivan Brnic, giving the squad a slight overall boost. Although the Turkish Super Lig has not started yet, Basaksehir have stayed sharp through friendlies and won each of their last two warm-up matches, so their condition appears assured. Against a less experienced European opponent in Inter Turku, taking a result while pushing for a win in the first leg is a realistic target.

Inter Turku finished runners-up in the Finnish top flight last season, which earned them a return to European competition for the first time since 2022, although they were knocked out in the first round that year by Kosovo side Drita. Looking at the club's history overall, Inter Turku have never qualified for the main stage of a European competition. Still, they have reasons for confidence. First, after drawing away to Jaro in their last match, they have posted four wins, three draws and one defeat from their first eight away games in this season's Finnish league, an unbeaten rate close to 90 percent. Second, after beating Sarajevo in the Conference League last time out thanks to goals from Elric Koddii and Jekater, they secured their first European aggregate victory since 2005, giving the squad a major lift. Away to Basaksehir in this match, Inter Turku will believe they can earn a draw.