Midtjylland hope rehabilitated Franculino can provide magic in hostile Turkish atmosphere

[p]The Guinea-Bissau striker suffered a knee/muscle injury in December 2025, and when he returned four months later, he was well short of the form that turned him into the leading goalscorer in the Danish Superliga and made him one of the hottest transfer targets in Europe.[/p][p]However, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/franculino/KKFRVszn/"]Franculino[/a] began his pre-season 10 days before the start of pre-season, undertaking double daily sessions under the supervision of the club’s performance department staff. And after scoring against Cardiff and OB in summer friendlies, there is hope that Franculino, who has attracted interest from five Premier League clubs this summer, has regained his speed and goal instinct.[/p][p]Franculino's potential contribution will be all the more important for the Danes, who crashed out against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/nottingham/UsushcZr/"]Nottingham Forest[/a] in the 1/8-final last season in the same competition, as they have sold prolific winger [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/simsir-doguhan/lzFZRPo5/"]Aral Simsir[/a] to another Turkish club, Trabzonspor, over the summer, while striker [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/junior-brumado/0AzLhQbG/"]Junior Brumado[/a] has suffered a knee injury, which rules him out for the rest of the year. [/p][p]FC Midtjylland who finished second in the race for the Danish title but won the Danish cup final against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/fc-copenhagen/hSPZwbEh/"]FC Copenhagen[/a] has signed Danish international defender [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kristensen-rasmus/Ii8pjsY2/"]Rasmus Nissen Kristensen[/a] from Eintracht Frankfurt over the summer and they will no doubt be needing all the international experience they can muster in the hostile atmosphere of the Tüpras Stadyumu stadium right on the Bosphorus in Istanbul, known for generating some of the highest decibel levels in world football.[/p][embed guid="489e4c18-028c-4d57-be9b-976ccf4daa23" url="https://x.com/fcmidtjylland/status/2080204206787469810" social-type="twitter" /][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/italiano-vincenzo/tjY4uUem/"]Vincenzo Italiano[/a] takes charge of his first competitive match for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/besiktas/IDmErJCR/"]Besiktas[/a] while the club allegedly is still pursuing a blockbuster move for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/salah-mohamed/08FBycgB/"]Mohamed Salah[/a].[/p][p]Besiktas have failed to reach the group or league phase of a UEFA competition since 2023, placing enormous pressure on Italiano to revive one of Turkey's biggest clubs. Before the season, the home side has been boosted by the arrival of Bayern Munich goalkeeper [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nubel-alexander/Igk6vzlT/"]Alexander Nubel[/a] and Arsenal striker [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/trossard-leandro/xUAbnjp2/"]Leandro Trossard[/a], who will, however, miss the opener after being granted additional leave following Belgium's participation at the World Cup.[/p][p]Besiktas' preseason offered only little encouragement as they won only two of five friendlies and conceded seven goals, and their troubles at the back have been compounded by the absence of the suspended Felix Uduokhai, which could hand Midtjylland striker Franculino a golden opportunity to get his Europa League goalscoring account off to a great start. [/p][p]The match in Istanbul starts at 20.00 CET.[/p]