Champions League Matchday 4: Fenerbahçe vs Liverpool facts

Fenerbahçe will look to get their first UEFA Champions League win of the season at the fourth time of asking as Liverpool bring their perfect record to Istanbul on Matchday 4.

Previous meetings

This is the teams' first meeting.

Fenerbahçe's home record against English visitors is W4 D2 L6; they have lost their last two, 0-1 against Aston Villa and 0-3 to Nottingham Forest, both in last season's UEFA Europa League.

A 2-1 win at Forest in last season's Europa League knockout phase play-off second leg is one of two victories in Fenerbahçe's last 12 games against Premier League opponents, home and away (D2 L8).

A 6-0 loss at Aston Villa on Matchday 2 this season – Fenerbahçe's heaviest European defeat since 1992 – extended the Turkish team's run without a clean sheet against English opposition to nine games.

A 4-0 home win against Galatasaray in last season's round of 16 second leg (4-1 aggregate) ended Liverpool's three-game losing run against clubs from Türkiye.

The Reds have lost their last three away games against Turkish opposition, all 0-1 – at Beşiktaş in February 2015 and Galatasaray in September 2025 and March 2026.

Liverpool have won only one of their eight away matches against Turkish clubs (D1 L6), 2-1 at Trabzonspor in the 2010/11 Europa League play-off round, and have not kept a clean sheet.

Club history

Fenerbahçe

Fenerbahçe have reached the Champions League proper for the first time since making their sixth appearance in 2008/09; they have since lost nine times in qualifying.

In that last appearance 18 years ago, the Turkish team were fourth in a section including Porto, Arsenal and Dynamo Kyiv, collecting two points from six games (D2 L4).

Former Liverpool forward Dirk Kuyt was named Fenerbahçe interim coach on 28 October following the resignation of İsmail Kartal.

Liverpool

This is Liverpool's 18th Champions League campaign and a ninth in ten seasons; they have reached the final five times, lifting the trophy in 2005 and at Atleti's Metropolitano stadium in 2019.

The Merseysiders were third in last season's league phase (W6 L2), beating Galatasaray 4-1 on aggregate in the round of 16 before going out to eventual champions Paris Saint-Germain in the last eight (0-4) – the second successive season they had been eliminated by the French side.

Links and trivia

Kuyt scored Liverpool's goal in the 2007 Champions League final loss to AC Milan in Athens. He spent six seasons on Merseyside before signing for Fenerbahçe in 2012, scoring 71 goals in 285 games in all competitions.

Romelu Lukaku made 166 appearances for Liverpool's rivals Everton and scored three Merseyside derby goals.

Ederson faced Liverpool in the 2017/18 Champions League quarter-finals, his Manchester City side losing 0-3 away and 1-2 at home.

The 2-2 home draw against Slavia Praha on Matchday 3 – a game they were winning 2-0 – made it nine matches in the Champions League proper without a win (D3 L6) for Fenerbahçe, the longest run in the club's history, since a 2-1 home success against Chelsea in the 2007/08 quarter-final first leg (2-3 aggregate).

The Yellow Canaries have not won in their last five home games in the Champions League proper (D3 L2).

Fenerbahçe have never lost a Champions League home match in which they scored first (W7 D2) or led at half-time (W5 D2).

However, when they have conceded first, Fenerbahçe's Champions League record is W2 D1 L21.

Ederson has made 89 Champions League appearances, and 49 in the group stage/league phase.

Liverpool have won their last six league phase games, including all three this season – beating Atlético de Madrid (2-1) and Villarreal (4-3) at home and LASK 6-3 away.

Andoni Iraola's team are one of five clubs to have won their first three matches.

None of Liverpool's last 46 European games ended in a draw (W32 L14), since they were held 3-3 at home by Benfica in the 2021/22 quarter-final second leg.

There has been a goal in Liverpool's last 65 away Champions League games, a club record, since a 0-0 draw at PSV Eindhoven in September 2006. That was also their last goalless draw in the group stage/league phase, 84 games ago.

None of Liverpool's last 56 UEFA competition matches finished goalless, another club record, going back to a home draw against Real Madrid in the 2020/21 quarter-finals.