Fenerbahce - Dirk Kuyt
Liverpool travel to Istanbul on Wednesday for their first-ever meeting with Fenerbahce. The Champions League league-phase match kicks off at 17:45 GMT.
The Reds have won all three of their league-phase games and scored 12 goals. Fenerbahce are 31st in the 36-team table with two points from three matches.
Their draws came against Roma (1-1) and Slavia Prague (2-2). In between, they lost 6-0 at Aston Villa, their heaviest European defeat since 1992.
Dirk Kuyt is in interim charge of the home side. He played for Liverpool from 2006 to 2012, making 285 appearances and scoring 71 goals in all competitions.
Kuyt won the League Cup with the Reds in 2011-12 and scored in the 2007 Champions League final, a 2-1 defeat to AC Milan. He has said his responsibility now lies with Fenerbahce.
He took over after Ismail Kartal left the club on October 27, one day after a 2-1 derby defeat to Galatasaray. Kuyt, who joined the staff as an assistant in the summer, lost his first game in charge 2-1 at home to Goztepe on October 31.
Fenerbahce lost that match after leading at half-time. They are sixth in the Super Lig with 16 points from 10 games.
The club has now named a permanent successor.
Fenerbahce announced the appointment of Emre Belozoglu as head coach on Tuesday.
Belozoglu, 46, arrives from Kasimpasa, whom he joined in December 2025. He won 10 of 31 games there, and Kasimpasa are fifth in the table, one place above Fenerbahce.
Wednesday’s match will be Kuyt’s last as interim coach, with Belozoglu due to take over after it.
“Welcome home, Emre Belozoglu!” the club said in its announcement.
He played 227 games for Fenerbahce across three spells, won 101 caps for Turkey, and also played for Galatasaray, Inter Milan, Newcastle United, Atletico Madrid and Istanbul Basaksehir.
He has coached the club before. He was sporting director from 2020 and took charge for ten games in 2021, winning seven, drawing two and losing one.
He later managed Istanbul Basaksehir, Ankaragucu, Antalyaspor and Kasimpasa.
Liverpool have named a 22-man squad for the trip. Midfielder Ryan Gravenberch is out with a heel injury.
Çubuklu için ter dökmek, bu arma uğruna mücadele etmek, zor zamanlarda dimdik ayakta durmak…
Bu renklere hizmet etmek, yürekten gelen ve yıllar geçse de eksilmeyen bir aidiyettir.
Futbolcu olarak sahada, teknik direktör olarak saha kenarında bu büyük camianın bir parçası olan Emre Belözoğlu, şimdi Fenerbahçemizin Teknik Direktörü olarak Çubuklu’nun başarısı için görev başında.
Bu armayı taşımak bir gurur. Ona hizmet etmek bir sorumluluktur.
Yuvana hoş geldin Emre Belözoğlu! 💛💙
— Fenerbahçe SK (@Fenerbahce) November 3, 2026
Support DaveOCKOP and enjoy the site completely ad-free. You’ll get an uninterrupted browsing experience while helping us continue to deliver the latest Liverpool news, breaking stories and exclusives. Go ad-free today.
Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo (18) during the Premier League match between Leeds United and Liverpool at Elland Road, Leeds, England on 6 December 2025.
Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo (18) during the Premier League match between Leeds United and Liverpool at Elland Road, Leeds, England on 6 December 2025.