5 to Watch: Turkish opponents for Pat's in Tallaght

Stephen Kenny’s St Patrick’s Athletic are in Tallaght Stadium tonight to face off against Istanbul Basaksehir and in this piece we take a look at some of their key players.

For a match preview, checkout Andrew Dempsey’s piece here.

In this article, we give a quick rundown on some of the host players we expect to catch the eye.

Jerome Opoku- The 25 year old English born defender is a product of the Fulham Academy and joined Basaksehir earlier this summer after spending the 2023/24 season on loan from The Cottagers. The towering centre half is also capable of operating on the left hand side of the defence and has picked up 3 caps for Ghana after making his debut in October 2023. With four goals in his 28 Super League games last season and standing well over 6ft tall, he will be a threat from set pieces.

Leo Duarte- One of Opoku’s defensive partners at the back is 28 year old Brazilian Duarte. While not as tall as Opoku, the ex AC Milan centre half is a physical presence at the heart of the defence and can also play at right back. After coming through the Flamengo Academy, the Rossoneri signed him for approximately €10 million in the summer of 2019. After making 9 appearances for the club, he was loaned to Basaksehir in 2021 ahead of a permanent move the following season. 

Berkay Ozcan- The 7 times capped Turkish international is a versatile central midfielder, capable of operating as either a holding or attacking player in the engine room. He is in his sixth season at the club, joining from Hamburg permanently in the summer of 2020- a year after originally signing on loan. At 26 years of age, he has amassed over 200 appearances for the Turkish outfit and, if he plays tonight, it will be his 30th European appearance. He has played in all four of Basaksehir’s European games this season, netting once.

Joao Figueiredo- 28  year old Brazilian Figueiredo has netted four times in six appearances so far this season- twice in two league games and two in four continental encounters. The centre forward, who can also play wide, left Brazilian side Atletico- MG B in 2018 to begin a footballing journey which has taken in Lithuania, Crete, the UAE and Turkey- where he joined Gaziantep FK in 2021 before signing for Basaksehir in February 2023. Approaching 250 senior career appearances, tonight will be his eighth European outing- five years after making his European debut for Lithuanian outfit FK Kauno Zalgiris against Apollon Limassol.

Krzysztof Piatek- The goal grabbing Pole is a 29 year old international who, like Duarte, spent time with AC Milan earlier in his career. With accumulated transfer fees approaching €65 million to date, he has cost more than any other Polish footballer according to Transfermarkt. He made his senior international debut in a 1-1 draw with the Republic of Ireland in 2018- a game in which current Shelbourne striker Aiden O'Brien opened the scoring. Piatek himself scored his latest of his 12 international goals in their Euro 2024 defeat to Austria and has netted four times in Basaksehir’s four European games so far this season.