It’s matchday in Istanbul, and Dirk Kuyt will be in the Fenerbahçe dugout tonight. The club officially announced Emre Belözoğlu as their new head coach last night, but they’ve now said he’ll watch the game from the stands and start work with his staff tomorrow morning.
Kick-off at Fenerbahçe’s Chobani Stadium, still widely known as the Şükrü Saracoğlu, is 5.45pm UK time. Elsewhere, Crystal Palace have lost their appeal against Jean-Philippe Mateta’s red card, so he misses Sunday’s game with us, our Under-19s won 5-3 in Istanbul, and the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Bournemouth now has a date.
Fenerbahçe: Kuyt in charge tonight
Fenerbahçe confirmed Emre’s appointment in a stock exchange filing last night. The club have now confirmed the arrangement: “Our coach will start his duties with his staff tomorrow morning. He will watch tonight’s Liverpool match from the stands.” That means interim head coach Kuyt, who fronted yesterday’s press conference, takes the team.
Turkish reports say the 46-year-old accepted the job with the words: “I don’t talk money or contract terms with Fenerbahçe. We’ll roll up our sleeves at this difficult time for the club. We’ll get this team back on its feet together.”
Kojo Peprah Oppong is listed as a doubt in Liverpool’s official preview, though Turkish reports say he trained fully with the squad yesterday. Nathan Aké and Marco Asensio are still out, and Jayden Oosterwolde has been sidelined since August.
The numbers
This is the first ever meeting between the clubs, and Fenerbahçe become the fourth Turkish side we’ve faced in Europe, after Trabzonspor, Galatasaray and Beşiktaş.
Turkey hasn’t been kind to us. We’ve won just once in eight away games against Turkish clubs, drawing one and losing six. Our last three visits have all ended in 1-0 defeats. The one win came at Trabzonspor in 2010, with a late winner from, of all people, Kuyt.
We go into tonight with three wins from three in the league phase and sit fourth in the table after last night’s results. Fenerbahçe have two points from their three games, are 31st of 36, and have lost their last two league matches 2-1.
France’s Clément Turpin is the referee. He also took charge of our 1-0 defeat at Galatasaray in September 2025.
Earlier today, our Under-19s won 5-3 at Fenerbahçe in the UEFA Youth League in atrocious conditions in Istanbul, extending their unbeaten run in the competition. Captain Will Wright scored a hat-trick, his second in the competition this season, with Josh Sonni-Lambie and Finn Inglethorpe also on the scoresheet.
Palace lose Mateta appeal
Crystal Palace have lost their appeal against Jean-Philippe Mateta’s red card in their 2-0 defeat at Tottenham. The 29-year-old was sent off in the 13th minute after a VAR review upgraded his yellow card for a challenge on Micky van de Ven.
The FA said an independent regulatory commission dismissed claims of both wrongful dismissal and excessive punishment, so he serves a three-match ban and misses Sunday’s game against us at Selhurst Park. Palace are in the bottom three on seven points.
Team news
There’s no change to our team news overnight. Ryan Gravenberch misses tonight’s game with a fractured heel and is a doubt for Sunday’s trip to Palace. Federico Chiesa and Wataru Endo aren’t in our Champions League squad, Jeremie Frimpong has a muscle issue, and Conor Bradley, Hugo Ekitiké and Giovanni Leoni are still recovering from long-term injuries.
Transfers
No significant new transfer developments have emerged overnight from established, reliable sources.
Lamine Camara: nothing new. Credibility: Medium on the long-standing interest, Low on a January deal.
Rio Ngumoha: nothing new on the Bayern Munich talk, which still rests on a Bild column. Credibility: Low.
El Hadji Malick Diouf: nothing new. Credibility: Low.
There’s been no club comment on Alexis Mac Allister’s contract remarks, and we’ve identified no other significant developments from reliable sources concerning contracts, ownership, investment or senior club staffing overnight.
Fixtures (UK times)
Wednesday 4 November: Fenerbahçe v Liverpool, Champions League, 5.45pm
Sunday 8 November: Crystal Palace v Liverpool, Premier League, 2pm (Sky Sports)
Sunday 22 November: Liverpool v Manchester United, Premier League, 4.30pm (Sky Sports)
Wednesday 25 November: Club Brugge v Liverpool, Champions League, 8pm
Sunday 29 November: Everton v Liverpool, Premier League, 12pm (TNT Sports)
Wednesday 2 December: Liverpool v Sunderland, Premier League, 7.30pm (Sky Sports)
Saturday 5 December: Chelsea v Liverpool, Premier League, 12.30pm (TNT Sports)
Wednesday 9 December: Liverpool v Porto, Champions League, 8pm
Saturday 12 December: Liverpool v Leeds United, Premier League, 3pm
Wednesday 16 December: Liverpool v AFC Bournemouth, Carabao Cup quarter-final, 8pm (ITV and Sky Sports)
All kick-off times are GMT.
