Wilfred Ndidi’s Besiktas vs Çorum FK – Preview, prediction, team news, tips, h2h

Beşiktaş host newly promoted Çorum FK at the Tüpraş Stadyumu on Monday, August 31, in a Turkish Super Lig round-three fixture, Afrik-Foot reports.

It is a meeting that pits a Vincenzo Italiano side stung by its first defeat of the season against a debutant club still finding its feet in the top flight.

Nigeria international Wilfred Ndidi has been part of the matchday squad in every game since Beşiktaş‘ Europa League qualifying campaign began, and the midfielder will hope to feature again as the Black Eagles try to move on quickly from Sunday’s shock loss at Alanyaspor.

Çorum arrive in Istanbul on the back of a promising start to their maiden Super Lig season, a battling point at champions Galatasaray, though a home defeat to Kasımpaşa a week later was a reminder of the gulf they must close if they are to survive their first campaign among Turkish football’s elite.

Beşiktaş look to respond after Alanyaspor setback

Beşiktaş sit 12th with three points from two matches, a position that flatters neither their transfer business nor their underlying performances so far this season.

Italiano’s side won their opener one-nil against Eyüpspor thanks to a Václav Černý strike before David Costa was sent off for the visitors, then followed it up in midweek by beating FK Kauno Žalgiris three-nil in the first leg of their Europa League play-off, a result that all but secured a place in the league phase.

Beşiktaş were then beaten one-nil at Alanyaspor four days later, their first defeat of the season, as Nuno Lima headed home a Florent Hadergjonaj cross in the seventy-third minute, with an earlier Oh Hyeon-gyu finish ruled out for a shirt pull and Dušan Vlahović twice denied by goalkeeper Paulo Victor after coming off the bench.

That Alanyaspor reverse was followed four days later by a second successive loss, as Beşiktaş fell one-nil away to Kauno Žalgiris in the second leg of their Europa League play-off, a flat performance that Italiano openly criticised even though the three-one aggregate scoreline was enough to confirm a place in the league phase.

Beşiktaş had gone six matches and roughly six hundred minutes without conceding before that pair of away defeats, a defensive platform built on the structure Italiano has installed since replacing Sergen Yalçın in June, and Monday’s game is the first chance to arrest back-to-back losses in front of their own supporters.

Beşiktaş finished fourth in the Super Lig last season under Yalçın before his exit by mutual consent in May, and this squad has been transformed since, with Alexander Nübel, Kassoum Ouattara, Leandro Trossard, Vlahović and Ndidi’s new midfield partner Salih Özcan all joining a group already built around captain Orkun Kökçü.

Çorum, for their part, are experiencing life in the Super Lig for the first time in the club’s history after finishing fourth in the second tier and winning the promotion play-off with a two-nil victory over Esenler Erokspor in May.

A two-two draw at Rams Park on the opening weekend, in which Alexandros Kyziridis and Jesús Ramírez both scored before Kyziridis was sent off, gave Uğur Uçar’s side genuine belief, but a one-nil home loss to Kasımpaşa a week later, played out behind closed doors because of a stadium sanction carried over from last season, was a sharper lesson in Super Lig standards.

Çorum’s away trip to Istanbul is further complicated by a supporter ban of their own: the club’s travelling fans have been barred from entering the away end at the Tüpraş Stadyumu after a Professional Football Disciplinary Board sanction linked to chanting during the Galatasaray match.

With Beşiktaş still unbeaten at Tüpraş Stadyumu this season and Çorum still searching for their first Super Lig win, the balance of form points heavily toward the hosts, even if the newcomers have shown flashes of the counter-attacking threat that got them out of the second tier.

Head-to-head: A first-ever meeting

Monday’s game will be the first competitive meeting between Beşiktaş and Çorum FK, since the clubs have never previously shared a Super Lig, Turkish Cup or lower-division fixture list.

There is, therefore, no head-to-head history to draw on with the sides only paired together for the first time by August’s fixture computer.

That lack of history removes any psychological edge from past results and puts the emphasis squarely on current form, in which Beşiktaş hold a clear advantage in quality and squad depth over a Çorum side still adjusting to the demands of the top flight.

Wilfred Ndidi and Beşiktaş team news

Trossard took a heavy knock to his ankle in the first leg against Kauno Žalgiris but recovered quickly enough to start and provide the assist for Oh Hyeon-gyu’s disallowed goal at Alanyaspor, so he should again be available from the first minute.

Vlahović is yet to start a Super Lig match for Beşiktaş since his summer arrival, but two lively cameos from the bench, including two attempts saved by Paulo Victor at Alanyaspor, suggest Italiano may finally hand him his first start in the league.

Ndidi has been named among the substitutes for each of Beşiktaş’ Europa League qualifying ties this season, and with Özcan having established himself as the first-choice holding midfielder, the Super Eagles man is more likely to be considered for a rotation slot or another appearance from the bench than a certain starting role.

Semih Kılıçsoy remains a useful attacking option after coming off the bench to score the winner in the first leg of Beşiktaş’ third qualifying-round tie against Hradec Králové, while Emmanuel Agbadou and Tiago Djaló have formed a settled central-defensive pairing since the start of the season.

For Çorum, Alexandros Kyziridis is suspended for a second successive match having been hit with a two-game ban for the tackle that saw him sent off against Galatasaray, meaning Mohammed Diomande is again likely to deputise on the flank.

Hrvoje Smolčić was a doubt after a knock picked up in the Galatasaray game but recovered in time to start against Kasımpaşa, and Mame Thiam, who scored the goal that sealed Çorum’s promotion in May, is pushing for a recall to the starting XI after coming off the bench against Kasımpaşa.

Predicted lineups

Beşiktaş possible starting XI (4-2-3-1): Nübel; Murillo, Agbadou, Djaló, Yılmaz; Özcan, Olaitan; Černý, Kökçü, Trossard; Vlahović.

Çorum FK possible starting XI (4-3-3): Felipe; Sazdağı, Penetra, Smolčić, Borza; Ramadani, Fredy, Karlsbakk; Diomande, Thiam, Ramírez.

Star player spotlight: Kökçü vs Ramírez

Kökçü was the club’s leading league scorer last season with eight goals and has already contributed a penalty in Europe this term, and his set-piece delivery and range of passing remain central to how Beşiktaş break teams down.

Ramírez has quickly become Çorum’s most dangerous attacking presence, scoring the club’s first-ever Super Lig goal at Galatasaray and repeatedly finding pockets of space between the lines, and containing him will be one of Beşiktaş’ clearer tactical priorities.

The managers: Italiano vs Uçar

Vincenzo Italiano arrived at Beşiktaş in June after leaving Bologna, where he won the Coppa Italia in his first season and guided the club into the Champions League, having previously reached the UEFA Europa Conference League final in two consecutive seasons with Fiorentina.

Known in Italy for his intense, possession-based coaching style built on a back four rotating quickly into a back three in possession, Italiano has lost only twice since taking charge of Beşiktaş, a record built on aggressive pressing and defensive discipline rather than free-scoring football so far.

Uğur Uçar is in his first season in senior management at this level, having taken charge of Çorum in February after a spell as Pendikspor’s head coach and earlier work as an assistant at Eyüpspor and Pendikspor.

A Galatasaray academy product who spent most of his playing career as a right-back in the lower reaches of Turkish football, Uçar took over in February, guided Çorum to a fourth-place finish and then a play-off triumph to secure the club’s first-ever Super Lig promotion, and Monday’s match will be only his third game in charge of a top-flight fixture.

There is no head-to-head record between the two coaches, since neither has previously faced the other in a competitive match.

Tactical preview: Beşiktaş’ control vs Çorum’s counter

Italiano’s Beşiktaş are built to dominate the ball, and they are particularly strong from attacking set pieces, direct free-kicks and through-ball combinations into the final third.

The visible weakness in that approach has been in front of goal, with Beşiktaş managing only five shots on target from nineteen attempts in the win over Eyüpspor and struggling similarly at Alanyaspor, so Vlahović’s introduction from the start would give Italiano a more natural finisher to convert the chances his structure creates.

Çorum’s underlying data points to a team built to break rather than build, rated very strong on counter-attacks and on their ability to come back from losing positions, but very weak at defending set pieces, stopping opposition attacks and avoiding individual errors.

Uçar’s 4-3-3 shape asks Sazdağı and Borza to push high from full-back, which offers an outlet on the counter through Ramírez and Diomande but also leaves space in behind that Kökçü and Beşiktaş’ overlapping full-backs should look to exploit repeatedly.

If Çorum sit deep and look to spring forward on turnovers, as they did for long spells at Galatasaray, the match could hinge on whether Beşiktaş’ profligacy in front of goal allows the visitors to stay in the contest deep into the second half.

Beşiktaş vs Çorum FK betting tips and predictions

Beşiktaş’ control of the ball and Çorum’s defensive frailties against skilful opponents make the hosts clear favourites, though their finishing struggles mean backing the outright win rather than a heavier handicap looks the smarter route to the top tip.

Vlahović’s improving match fitness and his history of prolific scoring for Italiano at Fiorentina make him a sensible source of value now that a first Super Lig start appears close, while Thiam’s aerial threat and Çorum’s counter-attacking directness offer a genuine, if unlikely, route to a long-shot return.

Final score prediction

Beşiktaş’ superior individual quality, and the wounded pride that comes with back-to-back defeats for the first time under Italiano, should be enough to see off a Çorum side still adjusting to Super Lig standards, even if the finishing issues that cost the hosts at Alanyaspor mean the margin is unlikely to be wide.

Vlahović’s first Super Lig start looks overdue, and a goal on his full debut would fit both his early cameo form and Beşiktaş’ need for a more clinical presence, while Kökçü’s set-piece quality offers a second route to goal that Çorum, statistically the division’s weakest side at defending dead balls so far, will find hard to repel.

Thiam’s aerial power and Çorum’s counter-attacking directness should still yield a consolation, particularly if Beşiktaş’ front-footed approach opens gaps in behind Murillo and Yılmaz in the second half.