Alanyaspor and Istanbul Basaksehir get their 2023-24 Turkish Super Lig campaign underway when they go head to head on Monday evening.
The Grey Owls journey to the Kirbiyik Holding Stadium where they have failed to win any of their last six visits since October 2016 and will be looking to end this poor record.
Match preview
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Alanyaspor escaped the drop only by the skin of their teeth last season as they finished 11th in the Super Lig standings, just one point above the relegation zone.
Omer Erdogan's men went into the season off the back of a successful 2021-22 campaign, where they finished fifth in the table, only missing out on a place in Europe by just one point.
However, they lost 17 of their 36 league matches while claiming 11 wins and eight draws to collect 40 points — their lowest point tally since also accumulating 40 points in the 2017-18 season.
Alanyaspor head into the new campaign off the back of a decent pre-season, where they picked up successive wins over Caykur Rizespor and Konyaspor in their opening two friendlies before losing twice and claiming two draws in their subsequent four games.
The home side will be backing themselves to start the season on a positive note as they take on an opposing side who have failed to win their last six visits to the Kirbiyik Holding Stadium, losing three and claiming three draws since a 5-0 victory in October 2016.
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Istanbul Basaksehir, on the other hand, enjoyed a decent 2022-23 campaign as they finished fifth in the Super Lig standings while also reaching the final of the Turkish Cup.
The Grey Owls picked up 18 wins in their 36 league matches while losing 10 and claiming eight draws to collect 62 points, 16 points adrift of the Europa Conference League qualification places.
Emre Belozoglu's men also beat Basaksehir FK and Galatasaray to reach the semi-finals of the Turkish Cup, where they picked up a 3-2 aggregate victory over Ankaragucu back in May.
However, their dreams of a first-ever cup success came to an end in the final where they fell to a 2-0 loss against Fenerbache courtesy of a first-half brace from Michy Batshuayi.
Istanbul Basaksehir capped off a decent pre-season campaign in style as they thrashed second-tier Eyupspor 3-1 when the sides squared off at the Basaksehir 3 Nolu Saha on July 31.
Prior to that, the 2019-20 Turkish champions kicked off their warm-up friendlies with a 2-1 loss against Antalyaspor on July 14, one week before claiming a 3-1 victory over Qatar outfit Al-Markhiya.
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Team News
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Alanyaspor will kick off the season without Turkish defender Fatih Aksoy, who is currently suspended after picking up a straight red in June's season finale against Trabzonspor.
On the injury front, Erdogan will be unable to call upon the attacking duo of Zinedine Ferhat and Ahmed Hassan, who are recuperating from muscle and knee injuries respectively.
Alanyaspor will be with a new-look squad on Monday, with the likes of Florent Hadergionaj, Nicolas Javier and former Zurich defender Fidan Aliti in line to make their league debuts.
Efe Arda Koyuncu and veteran midfielder Mahmut Tekdemir have been sidelined through ligament and back injuries respectively and are out of contention for Basaksehir.
Polish striker Patryk Szysz has been out of action since coming off with a meniscus injury against Ankaragucu in May and will also play no part in Monday's matchup.
Istanbul Basaksehir recently completed the signing of Krzysztof Piatek from Hertha Berlin and we expect the 28-year-old to spearhead the attack, alongside Serdar Gurler and Deniz Turuc.
Alanyaspor possible starting lineup:
Taskiran; Ozdemir, Bauermann, Bayir, Hadergjonaj; Janvier, Novais, Coelho; Karaca, Silva, Eduardo
Istanbul Basaksehir possible starting lineup:
Sengezer; Sahiner, Touba, Duarte, Lima; Karzev, Ozcan, Pelkas; Turuc, Gurler, Piatek
We say: Alanyaspor 1-1 Istanbul Basaksehir
Looking at recent results between Alanyaspor and Istanbul Basaksehir, we anticipate a cagey affair at the Kirbiyik Holding Stadium on Monday. Alanyaspor have a solid home record against the Grey Owls and we predict that they will force a share of the spoils in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
