Singing in the rain
- Published
It has been tipping it down in Istanbul for the past couple of hours.
Enterprising umbrella salesmen have done good business out of the Aston Villa and Freiburg fans who have taken shelter anywhere they can.
It has taken a little of the atmosphere away which has been building nicely since Tuesday, with fans congregating around the city's Taksim Square.
Kick-off is at 22:00 local time so there is still plenty of time for it to improve again, although the road closures before the game are causing chaos, with journeys which should take five minutes taking 40.
It means, rather than the sounds of fans, the loudest noises are the constant car horns.
Besiktas Park is, thankfully, only a 15 minute walk from the main square and the fan park - which will house those fans who have travelled without tickets.
Around 20,000 Villa fans have travelled to Turkey, although the club's official ticket allocation was 10,758.
More are expected to be in the stadium on Wednesday - joining Prince William who is also due to attend - as they hope to watch Villa make history.
