Besiktas manager Vincenzo Italiano says he is surprised that Celtic have not picked up any points in the Europa League so far this season. The Bhoys have lost all three of their games so far and face a tricky test against a very strong Besiktas side on Thursday night.
Besiktas are one of the better teams in the competition and come into this one with seven points from their first three games in the competition.
The Turkish giants are well on their way to securing automatic progression to the Round of 16, and they have a point to prove this week after giving up a two-goal lead in the league over the weekend.
"Our opponents have no points in Europe," Besiktas boss Itliano said in his pre-match press conference. "We need to have the same motivation. We need to be just as motivated as they are when they play strongly against us. I played against Celtic last season. It was a great match, we were 2-0 down and then made it 2-2. Playing against Celtic here is different.
"There's the home advantage. I'm also surprised that Celtic have 0 points. We might see an angry Celtic tomorrow. I think that will make things difficult for us. They will want to win and get points. I think it will be a tough match. We need to do a good job tomorrow. We all need to be ready."
Besiktas are currently fourth in the league and there is some concern over their away form, with only one win from five on the road in the league, but they are one from one away from home in Europe.
"The league and Europe are different," Italiano reminded. "We're doing very well in Europe. We only have one defeat, and that was the return leg against Zalgiris, after winning the first match 3-0. We have a different level of focus in Europe. We've achieved significant things here.
"It's never easy. We worked very hard to get here, we played very tough matches. Right now, we are focused on Europe. We want to get points here, get out of the group, and do even better. Tomorrow will be a tough match. We will be playing in a truly magnificent stadium in front of impressive fans."
Besiktas have a very strong squad to call upon between Arsenal title winner Leandro Trossard and former Juventus frontman Dusan Vlahovic, who both arrived in the summer.
"Trossard is a well-known, proven, intelligent player who reads the game well," added the Besiktas boss. "He is a footballer who can play in midfield and on the wing. We will see what kind of solution we will find. I am thinking about how to involve all the offensive players in the game. We were without Miretti and Orkun.
"We lacked their passing quality, their final touches, their game reading, and their shots. I think we got positive results even when they weren't there. Orkun will be on the bench tomorrow. We want to give him playing time and activate him. Hopefully, tomorrow's plans will go as we want and he will join us."
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