Fenerbahçe host Slavia Prague at Kadıköy: absentees and latest news

As the UEFA Champions League reaches matchday three, Fenerbahçe welcome Czech side Slavia Prague. Yet to taste victory in Europe's premier club competition, the yellow and navy blues are aiming to claim three points in front of their own supporters. Slavia Prague, who lost their opening two fixtures, will also be looking for points on their trip to Kadıköy. The fact that the two sides have met before in European competition is among the talking points ahead of the game.

Fenerbahçe have some significant absentees going into the match. Marco Asensio is ruled out with a cartilage problem and Mert Müldür with a meniscus injury. Jayden Oosterwolde will miss out both through a muscle injury and because he is not included in the UEFA squad list. Mert Hakan Yandaş and Amara Diouf are the other players left out of the UEFA squad. For Slavia Prague, Stepan Chaloupek has a muscle injury, while Ivan Schranz, David Jurásek, Elias Pitak and Adonija Ouanda are also among those who will miss the trip to Kadıköy through injury.

Fenerbahçe began their Champions League campaign with a 1-1 home draw against Roma. On matchday two, the yellow and navy blues travelled to Aston Villa and returned from England on the end of a 6-0 defeat. With one point from two games, the Istanbul side sit 28th in the 36-team league phase. Domestically, however, Fenerbahçe have recovered, beating Alanyaspor 3-0 in their most recent match. With 16 points from eight games, they remain in the hunt at the top of the Süper Lig.

Opponents Slavia Prague have yet to pick up a point in their first two Champions League outings. The Czech side lost 3-2 at home to Lens in their opener, before going down 2-0 away to Sabah FK in their second match. Although Slavia are 30th in the league phase, they are in excellent form domestically. With eight wins and three draws from 11 rounds of the Czech league, the Prague side are unbeaten at the top with 27 points. Jindrich Trpisovsky's team have scored 26 goals and conceded only six in that period, and drew 0-0 with Hradec Kralove in their last league outing. In attack, Wiktor Nowak leads the way with five league goals, while Emmanuel Ayaosi, Tomas Chory and Mojmír Chytil have contributed four apiece.

The two teams have met three times before in European competition. In the 2021/22 season, Slavia Prague progressed from a UEFA Conference League qualifying round after winning 3-2 both in Istanbul and at home. The sides last faced each other in the UEFA Europa League in the 2024/25 season, when Fenerbahçe won 2-1 in Prague.