Istanbul Basaksehir explain why they won't go easy on Hearts in Turkey

Istanbul Basaksehir have no intention of going easy on Hearts on Thursday as they aim to secure automatic progress to the Europa Conference League last 16.

The Turkish side lead Group A on goal difference ahead of second-placed Fiorentina but are determined to finish top as they prepare for the final fixture of the section. Whoever comes second must negotiate a play-off round to enter the tournament’s last 16.

Whilst both Basaksehir and the Italians are through, the ultimate prize is first place for both. Emre Belozoglu, coach of the Istanbul club, oversaw a 4-0 victory at Tynecastle Park on matchday one and stressed his team want to end the group phase with another three points against Hearts in the Fatih Terim Stadium.

“Tomorrow the game is very important for us,” he said. “The first match against Hearts was tough but we won 4-0 and that was a good result from Scotland. Each game has different scenarios and tomorrow will be a difficult game. We want to win and we want to play very well. That's our philosophy. It's important to win for national country standings to we want to win and finish the group stage in first position.

The Basaksehir goalkeeper Muhammed Şengezer underlined the need for his team to finish with a flourish. “We are [group] leader at the moment we and worked really hard to be first. We beat Fiorentina but we played very well against Hearts in Scotland. Tomorrow we want another win to qualify directly for the last 16,” he said.

Belozoglu is aware of Hearts’ extensive injury list which will see almost a full team of first-team regulars sitting at home in Scotland watching this match on television. “I have to be honest, I watched some games and saw Hearts' injury problems,” said the former Inter Milan midfielder. “I heard they are going to be focused on the Scottish Premiership. We know also that tomorrow we have a tough game. We have to focus like the first game. We want to continue like we did last time against Hearts but, like I said, this is not an easy game for us.”

The coach is also concerned about losing momentum during the impending World Cup break. Many of Basaksehir’s players will depart for international duty in a matter of days, disrupting a positive run of domestic and European form for one of Turkey’s less-fashionable clubs.

They sit second in the Super Lig and are only three points behind leaders Fenerbahce after 11 games. They have lost just one of five Conference League group fixtures to date and Belozoglu, understandably, does not want the prosperity to stop.

Istanbul Basaksehir coach Emre Belozoglu is eager for his team to finish Group A with a win.

“Right now we have many good quality players in our squad who are playing in their national teams,” he acknowledged. “Of course that's good, but it might be a disadvantage because they are going to have a break for 50 days. This can work negatively on our side because when they come back after the World Cup there are still 30 matches. That can effect the team's performance. However, the teams who had a negative performance can do better. I don't think it will be an advantage for us.”