Besiktas (H) Build Up

[The_weatherman]

Tough ****, Sunday league rules, if they don't play we'll take a 3-0 win

Three points, a clean sheet and a rest for everybody

[Angryred]

There is some rumor about Besiktas asking to delay the game until friday, they're having some travel difficulties.


Edit: Scratch that.

Tony Barrett @TonyBarretTimes 43m43 minutes ago
Bad weather in Istanbul is causing Besiktas travel problems but there's no suggestion that their game away to Liverpool could be in doubt.

A positive for us if their preparations are hampered as awkward travelling times can upset their players' mindset.

[Robbie-9-Fowler]

Three points, a clean sheet and a rest for everybody

Plus you can get to the pub faster

[Liverpel]

There is some rumor about Besiktas asking to delay the game until friday, they're having some travel difficulties.


Edit: Scratch that.

Tony Barrett @TonyBarretTimes 43m43 minutes ago
Bad weather in Istanbul is causing Besiktas travel problems but there's no suggestion that their game away to Liverpool could be in doubt.

Adverse winter weather, including heavy snowfall, has resulted in significant travel disruptions in Istanbul, Turkey, on 18 February which may affect your upcoming travel plans.


Heavy snowfall has led to the closure of Istanbul's Ataturk Airport, with flights to and from the facility having been suspended.

National air carrier, Turkish Airlines, has cancelled at least 168 flights that were scheduled for 18 and 19 February. It currently remains unclear when flight services at the facility will resume

[rodo]

uefa will prob award them a 3 nil due to markovic getting sent off for benfica last year

[shanks69]

so just get on a coach and go to different airport.

[frank the tank]

looking forward to the game now. Will be very interested to see what team he puts out.... i suspect Ibe will get another game as he is fresh as a daisy having missed the fa cup game at Palarse........

Hoping to see:

----------------------------------MIGNOLET---------------------------------

---------EMRE CAN---------------SKRTEL----------------SAKHO------------

MANQUILLO--------------------------------------------------------MORNEO
-------------------HENDERSON---------------ALLEN------------------------

-------IBE--------------------------------------COUTINHO------------------

-------------------------STURRIDGE-----------------------------------------



With maybe a midfielder coming off for Balotelli at some stage and we can switch to the diamond formation with Ibe behind Sturridge and Balotelli and Emre Can playing the sitting midfielder role.....

[Paddy]

I'd start Lallana in place of Coutinho to keep him fresh for Sunday.

Gerrard in the ITV studio tonight by the way.

[SB]

Besiktas at home on Thursday




(edit - I accidentally labelled it an away game in the thread title, could a mod duly edit please? )

totally redeemed yourself.

[BigChief]

Is anyone else looking forward to more Ibe tonight? We've definitely not been getting enough Ibe recently.

I expect Besiktas to give him loads of room in the first half to skin the fullback. Then he'll have two/three men on him for the duration of the second half giving Coutinho and Sturridge the space they need to score our 2nd, 3rd and 4th goals. Just like against Spurs.

[Daffy Duck]

Sterling expected to be fit for tonight
Considering the fact that him, Lallana and Coutinho all are able to play, Ibe probably doesn't stand a chance of playing anywhere else but the rwb position.

Btw, what's up with Manquillo? I can't remember now, but was he even on the bench recently?

[Pablo]

Sterling expected to be fit for tonight
Considering the fact that him, Lallana and Coutinho all are able to play, Ibe probably doesn't stand a chance of playing anywhere else but the rwb position.

Btw, what's up with Manquillo? I can't remember now, but was he even on the bench recently?

I think it all went wrong for him when he made the foolish decision to befriend Jose Enrique.

[Daffy Duck]

I think it all went wrong for him when he made the foolish decision to befriend Jose Enrique.

Probably

Here they are, destroying the table tennis... table.

https://vine.co/v/OxgPdX1xHWa

[Daffy Duck]

Cameron Brannagan was trainig with the senior team yesterday, don't think there's any chance of him being in the squad though.

[Yozza]

Besiktas: The view from the opposition

http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/latest-news/180333-besiktas-the-view-from-the-opposition

Ahead of tonight's Europa League Round of 32 clash with Besiktas at Anfield, we interviewed the Turkish club's director of football, Semih Usta, to get the view from the opposition camp.

Besiktas are currently top of the Turkish Super Lig, one point ahead of Fenerbahce in second place and two points clear of Galatasaray, who currently occupy third position.

The Istanbul side, managed by Slaven Bilic, progressed to this round of the competition by finishing top of Group C, which also included Mauricio Pochettino's Tottenham Hotspur.

They will be looking to avenge the 8-0 defeat they sustained upon their last visit to Anfield in 2007 - and so to gain more of an insight into the club's current form, we spoke to someone who knows Besiktas inside out...

What was your reaction when the draw was made and out came Liverpool?

Liverpool are tough opponents, of course. It could have been a much better draw for us, but this is not the first time this season we've been handed a tough draw. We were paired with Arsenal for our Champions League qualifier and then Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League group stage. So the reaction is this - if we can get past Liverpool, then we believe we have what it takes to win the cup.

What is the feeling around the club and amongst the fans ahead of the trip to Anfield?

We all have belief. As I said, we've played two Premier League teams this season. We played four matches and they were all good performances from our side. We won one, lost one and drew two of them. But we are aware of Liverpool's improved form, specifically since the second half of the season. It will be more difficult to face them now.

The last time the two sides met at Anfield, Liverpool won the game by a large scoreline. Will that game be in the minds of the Besiktas fans when they watch the match tonight?

It will be on the fans' minds and it may be on the minds of some of the club officials. But that will not be the case for the coaches or the players. The squad is new. Only right-back Serdar Kurtulus remains from that squad. I was there, too, and it was one of those bad days. Everything we did came out wrong; we lost tactical discipline and so on. The team was not too experienced, yet surprisingly, the same squad defeated Liverpool at home a fortnight previously, with a dominant and controlled performance.

We know all about Slaven Bilic the player from his spell at Everton, but can you tell us more about Bilic the manager? What is he like as a coach?

Slaven, as a coach, is very clever and has a lot of experience of coaching big players at national team level. His preparation is good and he has a fantastic strategy, and he fits well with the culture of our club. Slaven is from the Balkans and adopted easily. He passes his emotions on to the players, and they all like him and his staff very much. Above all he is fair - and a true gentleman. He's also finds it easy to communicate with our foreign players as he speaks good English.

How do you asses Liverpool's form so far this season and who do you feel is the one Liverpool player that Besiktas will need to keep an eye on?

I mentioned it earlier, but during the second half of the season, Liverpool are reaching top form. Daniel Sturridge is back now, Jordan Henderson is the key player in the midfield, and if he plays, Jordon Ibe is in good form - and that's why he is back from his loan spell at Derby County. Mario Balotelli is always a big name and a threat.

Similarly, who is the one Besiktas player Liverpool fans should be most wary of during tonight's match - and why can that player be such a threat?

As I have to choose just one player, I'll say No.7, Gokhan Tore. He has amazing skills and stamina, he has a great future ahead of him after he moved from big teams at a very young age. He switched from Bayer Leverkusen to Chelsea to Hamburg to Rubin Kazan and finally to Besiktas. He is currently 23.