Fenerbahce will welcome Kasimpasa to the Ulker Fenerbahce Sukru Saracoglu Stadium on Sunday, aiming for a vital victory to keep their Turkish Super Lig title hopes alive.
The Yellow Canaries currently trail league leaders Galatasaray by six points and will be determined to maintain pressure in the hope that their fierce rivals slip up.
Match preview
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Fenerbahce were in action midweek, edging closer to the Europa League round of 16 with a commanding 3-0 victory at home against Belgian side Anderlecht in the first leg of their play-off tie.
That result marked their third consecutive clean sheet, following a 2-0 league win over Alanyaspor last weekend and a dominant 5-0 triumph over second-tier Erzurumspor in the Turkish Cup.
The success against Alanyaspor extended Fenerbahce's Super Lig winning streak to seven matches, keeping them within touching distance of reigning champions Galatasaray.
Jose Mourinho's side will be confident of continuing their fine form, given their overwhelming dominance over Kasimpasa in previous meetings – the Kadikoy-based side have won 74 of the 86 encounters between the two teams, losing just eight.
More impressively, Fenerbahce have won the last 12 meetings across all competitions, including two victories this season—a 2-0 win in the reverse fixture and a 3-0 triumph in the Turkish Cup last month.
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Kasimpasa, meanwhile, are undergoing a managerial transition that has proven successful so far – Hakan Keles departed by mutual consent after a short tenure, bowing out with a thrilling 5-4 victory over Hatayspor.
His successor, former Turkey striker Burak Yilmaz, picked up where Keles left off, guiding his side to another high-scoring triumph, a 5-3 win against Adana Demirspor – however, their momentum was halted with a shock 2-0 defeat to second-tier Istanbulspor in the Turkish Cup.
That disappointment did not derail them in the league, as Kasimpasa secured a third consecutive Super Lig victory by edging Caykur Rizespor 3-2, a result that lifted them to eighth place on 31 points, eight points off the top four.
Yilmaz's men can set their sights on a European push if they maintain this momentum, but they now face the daunting challenge of a rampant Fenerbahce side threatening to end their four-match unbeaten run.
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Team News
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Fenerbahce remain without Caglar Soyuncu, Diego Carlos and Alexander Djiku due to injury, meaning Sofyan Amrabat is expected to deputise as a makeshift centre-back once again.
Jayden Oosterwolde and Rodrigo Becao have both suffered season-ending knee injuries, while Ismail Yuksek is also sidelined.
Sebastian Szymanski is suspended, but Youssef En-Nesyri returns from his own suspension, and Dominik Livakovic is likely to reclaim his spot in goal after recovering from injury.
As for the visitors, Aytac Kara is unavailable after reaching the yellow card threshold, while Ali Emre Yanar has been ruled out with a muscle injury.
However, Kasimpasa will be boosted by the return of Andreas Gianniotis, who has fully recovered from injury and is back in contention.
Fenerbahce possible starting lineup:
Livakovic; Amrabat, Skriniar, Mercan; Aydin, Fred, Tadic, Kostic; Talisca, En-Neysri, Dzeko
Kasimpasa possible starting lineup:
Gianniotis; Winck, Piatowski, Ozcan, Rodrigues; Cafu; Ouanes, Hajradinovic, Gul, Fall; Costa
We say: Fenerbahce 3-1 Kasimpasa
Fenerbahce's dominance over Kasimpasa is likely to continue, with Mourinho's side in imperious form – we expect the Yellow Canaries to create numerous chances via counter attacks as Kasimpasa's leaky defence have struggled in these situations, making a comfortable home victory the most probable outcome on Sunday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
