Fenerbahçe and Çaykur Rizespor met in a Trendyol Süper Lig match on 17 May 2025, with kickoff set for 20.00 at Chobani Stadyumu and live coverage on beIN SPORTS 1. Domenico Tedesco framed the game as another elimination step in a season he has treated like a series of finals, saying Fenerbahçe first had to win the semifinal before thinking about the final next week.
The stakes were not just about points. Seven Fenerbahçe players — Kerem Aktürkoğlu, Nelson Semedo, Anthony Musaba, Archie Brown, Mert Müldür, Matteo Guendouzi and Dorgeles Nene — were one yellow card away from a suspension warning before kickoff, while Jayden Oosterwolde was already out after picking up a booking in the Kayserispor match. Tedesco said that kind of pressure would not change his plan, adding that he wanted players to give everything and play as if it were a normal match, but not to pick up needless cautions, such as arguing with the referee.
Fenerbahçe lined up with Ederson, Semedo, Skriniar, Çağlar, Brown, Kante, Guendouzi, Talisca, Nene, Kerem Aktürkoğlu and Cherif, while Rizespor started with Fofana, Mithat, Mocsi, Samet, Hojer, Taylan, Olawoyin, Laçi, Augusto, Mihaila and Ali Sowe. Davut Dakul Çelik served as VAR official.
The backdrop favored Fenerbahçe. Before this game, it had won 13 consecutive official matches against Rizespor and led the Süper Lig head-to-head record with 32 wins in 47 meetings, compared with seven victories for Rizespor and eight draws. The last time Rizespor beat Fenerbahçe at home was 30 September 2018, a 3-0 result that still stood out in a series otherwise dominated by the Istanbul club.
That history gave the night a familiar shape, but Tedesco’s warning made the tension plain: if Fenerbahçe wanted to reach next week with its strongest possible hand, it had to get through this one without wasting players on avoidable bookings. In that sense, the match was as much about discipline as it was about the scoreline.