Can Aston Villa rediscover the home form that has been the bedrock of their success under Unai Emery? Not so long ago, the Villans' were imperious at home. Between March 2024 and August 2025, they accumulated 50 points from 25 Premier League matches at Villa Park, beaten only once during this period.
However, so far this season, the Claret and Blue Army are yet to pick up a victory in front of their own supporters, beaten by Arsenal and then Nottingham Forest, before a 2-2 draw against Brentford on Saturday. Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday, Emery stated that it is "very important" for his team change that fact, adding that there are "no excuses", despite fans blaming the lost atmosphere due to the ongoing renovations to the north stand.
Nevertheless, having beaten Club Brugge 3-2 at Jan Breydelstadion last month, they are seeking two wins out of two in the Champions League. Well, considering Fenerbahçe's dire record in England, the Villans have to be favourites for victory.
Fenerbahçe's previous results vs English teams away
- 26 February 2026: Nottingham Forest 1-2 Fenerbahçe - Europa League first knockout round second leg.
- 20 October 2016: Manchester United 4-1 Fenerbahçe - Europa League group stages.
- 27 August 2013: Arsenal 2-0 Fenerbahçe - Champions League play-off round.
- 5 November 2008: Arsenal 0-0 Fenerbahçe - Champions League group stages.
- 8 April 2008: Chelsea 2-0 Fenerbahçe - Champions League quarter-final second leg.
- 19 October 2006: Newcastle United 1-0 Fenerbahçe - UEFA Cup group stages.
- 28 September 2004: Manchester United 6-2 Fenerbahçe - Champions League group stages.
- 30 October 1996: Manchester United 0-1 Fenerbahçe - Champions League group stages.
- 19 September 1979: Arsenal 2-0 Fenerbahçe - Cup Winners' Cup first round first leg.
- 14 September 1977: Aston Villa 4-0 Fenerbahçe - UEFA Cup first round first leg.
- 18 September 1968: Manchester City 0-0 Fenerbahçe - European Cup first round first leg.
Across 11 previous visits to England, the Yellow Canaries have won only two and lost seven. Of these two victories, one came earlier this year, 49 miles across the Midlands at the City Ground. Kerem Aktürkoğlu's brace secured a 2-1 victory over Vítor Pereira's Nottingham Forest in February, although this was very much in vain, having lost the first leg 3-0 at Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium a week earlier.
Fenerbahçe's other victory on English soil came all the way back in 1996, beating Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford in the Champions League group stages. Nevertheless, Sir Alex Ferguson's side still progressed to the knockout stages at the Turkish club's expense on the final day.
Looking at the Champions League specifically, the İstanbul-based giants have failed to score a goal across their last three trips to England, most-recently doing so during a 6-2 annihilation at the hands of Man United in 2004, a night made famous for Wayne Rooney bagging a hat-trick on his debut.
Well, this is astonishingly the first time Fenerbahçe have featured in the Champions League proper since 2008. They had fallen in qualify no fewer than nine times in the intervening years but, during the summer, İsmail Kartal's team ousted Górnik Zabrze, Sturm Graz and then Olympique Lyonnais to reach the holy grail.
An opening night 1-1 draw with Roma does not suggest they're likely to go particularly far however. In terms of Aston Villa, Viking will visit the Midlands next mid-week, with Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund doing so later on. Thus, it is vitally important that they picked up their first home win of the season.
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