On Wednesday, August 13, at the Başakşehir Fatih Terim Stadium, hosts İstanbul Başakşehir welcome Norway’s Viking for the second leg of the UEFA Europa Conference League third qualifying round. The Turkish side comes into this match in a comfortable position after last week’s 3-1 away win in Norway. Despite the final scoreline, Viking created more goal-scoring opportunities in the first leg, while Başakşehir proved to be more clinical, leveraging their overall superior squad quality—particularly in attack. Currently sitting fifth in the 2024/25 Turkish Süper Lig, the Istanbul-based team’s main objective now is to manage their two-goal advantage and book a place in the final qualifying round, where they would face either Spartak Trnava or Universitatea Craiova in a theoretically favorable matchup. With home advantage and valuable European experience gained in recent years, including participation in last season’s Conference League, Başakşehir have strong chances of going all the way through the qualifiers. For Viking, overturning a two-goal deficit away from home is a monumental task—they must win by at least three goals to advance. Achieving that at the Başakşehir Fatih Terim Stadium is a tall order, especially considering the Norwegians are in the middle of their domestic season and have been dealing with a congested fixture list for several weeks. Nevertheless, Morten Jensen’s side will fight until the very end in pursuit of a historic comeback, which would secure their first European group stage appearance in 20 years, since the 2004/05 UEFA Cup.

Istanbul Basaksehir's Recent Form and key stats

Başakşehir have so far only played in the UEFA Europa Conference League qualifiers this season, winning all three matches with an aggregate score of 8-1. One standout performer has been left-back Cristopher Operi, who has already scored twice in three appearances.

The team’s main strength—considering the level of opposition faced—has been their defense, keeping clean sheets in two of the three games played. Under Cagdas Atan, Başakşehir’s 2025 home record has been all or nothing: zero draws, five defeats, and seven wins.

In last season’s Turkish Süper Lig, they averaged 1.89 goals scored per home match, showing attacking strength, but also conceded an average of 1.28. In European competitions, they are unbeaten in their last seven Conference League matches.

Viking's Recent Form and key stats

Last weekend, Viking earned a 2-1 away win against Sandefjord in the 17th round of Norway’s Eliteserien, thanks to an early second-half goal by Tripic and a stoppage-time own goal from Pedersen. Morten Jensen’s men are in solid form, with four wins and one loss in their last five matches, averaging 3.6 goals scored and 1.6 conceded per game.

They come into this clash on the back of three consecutive away wins. Viking have lost just twice in their last 16 matches away from the SR-Bank Arena. Since the start of the Eliteserien season in March, they have consistently scored away from home—an encouraging sign ahead of the trip to Istanbul.

Istanbul Basaksehir vs Viking Prediction & Tactical overview

This match promises to be exciting and full of end-to-end action, much like the first leg. In addition to the four goals scored in Norway, there were several wasted chances—particularly from Viking—due to a lack of composure or last-ditch clearances from Turkish defenders.

Tactically, Başakşehir are expected to sit deeper, protect their two-goal advantage, and look to counterattack, using the pace and creativity of Da Costa and Turuc. This is the same approach that paid off handsomely last week.

By adopting this strategy, it’s very likely the hosts will find the net again, exploiting the spaces Viking will inevitably leave as they push forward. The Norwegians will also get their opportunities, given the defensive errors Başakşehir made in the first leg both in build-up play and marking.

According to the BetMines algorithm, this is expected to be a match with at least three total goals, with both teams scoring at least once.

• Istanbul Basaksehir vs Viking prediction by BetMines: Both teams to score – 63% probability
  
  
• Istanbul Basaksehir vs Viking prediction by BetMines: Over 2.5 goals – 63% probability

Probable Lineups Istanbul Basaksehir vs Viking

BAŞAKŞEHİR (4-3-3): Sengezer; Bulut, Duarte, Ba, Operi; Sahiner, Odzemir, Crespo; Turuc, Da Costa, Brnic. Coach: Cagdas Atan

VIKING (4-3-3): Klaesson; Heggheim, Falchener, Baertelsen, Bjorshol; Askildsen, Bell, Alte; Svendsen, Berisha, Tripic. Coach: Morten Jensen