The opposite view: Ex-Premier League man Ndidi on what he expects from Palace

Match previews

6 hours ago

Crystal Palace will look to return to winning ways when facing Besiktas in Istanbul on Thursday evening (20:00 BST).

Click here for the best of the build-up to Beşiktaş vs Palace.
Hear from Manager Pierre Sage on how he hopes to use the atmosphere to his advantage.

In their words...

Former Leicester City man and current Besiktas midfielder Wilfred Ndidi is expected to be involved against the Eagles in Istanbul.

The Nigeria international moved to the Turkish giants in 2025 and helped them to a fourth place finish in the Super Liga last season.

In the pre-match press conference, Ndidi discussed the threats posed by Palace and the challenge of facing Adam Wharton in midfield.

"Tomorrow we will play at home, in our sanctuary," said Ndidi. "We will work really hard and tomorrow we will play against a good team.

"Teams coming from England are used to high tempo and intensity. But we also play against good teams. So we're ready. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow."

"We don't know who will be in their starting eleven tomorrow," he added. "Adam Wharton is a good left-footed player, but as I said, we don't know.

"He's a good and aggressive player, but we'll see what happens tomorrow.

"Our goal in Europe is to finish in the top eight [of the league phase]. To get there, we need to win all our remaining matches. Tomorrow is an important game.

"We've learned lessons from the last game, and we want to show what we can do tomorrow. We think it will be a good game."

Beşiktaş team news

Former Celtic striker Hyeon Gyu-Oh scored twice against Hoffenheim in their previous Europa League tie and is expected to lead the line for the hosts, while Dutch defender Ernest Poku could also be involved.

Dusan Vlahovic was in the Besiktas side that lost to Trabzonspor on Monday night, but manager Vincenzo Italiano refused to confirm whether he would start against Palace.

"Dusan Vlahovic played [on Monday] because he was ill before and hadn’t travelled. He wasn’t tired, so I tried him out. But now we’ll see.

"We have to take their [the players] fatigue into account, I will wait until the last minute and make a starting line-up accordingly.

"Yes, Ernest Poku hasn't had much playing time. That doesn't mean he won't get any."

Besiktas Factfile:

Manager: Vincenzo Italiano
Nickname: The Black Eagles
Ground: Besiktas Park
Club Founded: 1903
Last season: 4th

The Boss: Vincenzo Italiano

The German-born Italian citizen spent most of his playing career in Serie B but did also make over 100 top-flight appearances.

As a manager he took small-town club Spezia into Serie A and kept them in the division before he was recruited by Fiorentina.

While at La Viola, he took them to the final of the UEFA Conference League, only to lose 1-0 to Olympiacos in extra-time.

After then moving onto Bologna where he won the Coppa Italia – their first silverware in over half a century – Italiano moved to Besiktas in the summer.

Handed a two-year contract, he is aiming to take them back to the top of Turkish football – Besiktas last won the domestic title in 2020/21.

Match details

Beşiktaş v Crystal Palace

Thursday, 22nd October
20:00 BST UK time / 22:00 local time
Beşiktaş Park, Istanbul, Türkiye
UEFA Europa League
Live audio commentary on Palace TV+

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