Kick-off in Istanbul is at 8:45pm local time, and Fenerbahce meet Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool with the two teams at opposite ends of the Champions League league phase table.
Liverpool have won all three of their group matches, scoring 12 goals and sitting third in the 36-team standings. Fenerbahce have taken two points from three fixtures and sit 31st, after two draws and one defeat.
Greenwood is the attacker Fenerbahce will build their night around. The 25-year-old joined from Marseille in July for a fee reported at €39m and has scored four goals in nine Süper Lig matches so far this season. In the Champions League he has made three league-phase appearances, with one goal and one assist in UEFA’s official records.
Kuyt in the dugout against his old club
Fenerbahce arrive without a permanent head coach. Ismail Kartal resigned on 27 October after a 2-1 derby defeat to Galatasaray, and the club named Dirk Kuyt as interim boss “until a new head coach is appointed.” Reports in Portugal and Turkey say former Porto coach Sergio Conceição has agreed terms on a longer deal, but Kuyt will be on the touchline on Wednesday.
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Kuyt played 285 times for Liverpool from 2006 to 2012, scoring 71 goals, before spending three seasons as a player at Fenerbahce. He only returned to Istanbul as Kartal’s assistant in the summer.
The job he has inherited is a hard one. Fenerbahce sit fifth in the Süper Lig and lost 2-1 at home to Göztepe in their most recent domestic match, extending their winless run to three matches across all competitions.
A Premier League flavour in Istanbul
The home dressing room reads like a Premier League reunion as much as a Turkish line-up. Alongside Greenwood, Kuyt has N’Golo Kanté and Romelu Lukaku to call on, both former Premier League regulars. Centre-back Nathan Aké is unavailable, as is Marco Asensio.
Iraola arrives with his own absentee list. Jeremie Frimpong, Hugo Ekitiké, Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni are all ruled out, pushing him towards the shape that has carried Liverpool through the group stage. The Spaniard was appointed in June, replacing Arne Slot after a fifth-placed Premier League finish.
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Liverpool also travel to Istanbul off a 1-0 Premier League home defeat to Arsenal. They have conceded in each of their three Champions League wins, giving up seven goals even as they scored 12 at the other end. The Reds confirmed their trip to the Şükrü Saracoğlu for an 8:45pm local time kick-off on Wednesday.
Sources: – [Andoni Iraola – Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andoni_Iraola) – [Dirk Kuyt – LFChistory](https://www.lfchistory.net/players/1162) – [Fenerbahce vs Liverpool preview – TNT Sports](https://www.tntsports.co.uk/football/champions-league/2026-2027/how-to-watch-fenerbahce-liverpool-date-kick-off-time-dirk-kuyt_sto23351532/story.shtml)
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