Alanyaspor and Fenerbahce will do battle at the Kirbiyik Holding Stadyumu on Sunday evening in gameweek six of the 2023 Turkish Super Lig campaign.
Both teams are yet to suffer defeat in league action heading into this weekend's encounter, which promises to be a keenly-contested affair.
Match preview
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Fenerbahce got their Conference League journey off to a good start as they swept aside Nordsjaelland courtesy of a 3-1 victory at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium on Thursday.
First-half goals from Miguel Crespo and Michy Batshuayi put Ismail Kartal's men in the driving seat before Serdar Aziz made sure of the result two minutes into the second period, rendering Oliver Villadsen's strike inconsequential.
Prior to that, the Yellow Canaries claimed a 3-2 victory over Antalyaspor and remain top of the Turkish Super Lig table, two points clear of city rivals Galatasaray.
Next up is the challenge of an opposing outfit who boast just one win from the last nine editions of this fixture since 2020, losing five of the other eight.
Off the back of six straight away wins across all competitions by a combined score of 12-0, Sunday's visitors are flying on the road at the moment and will certainly take some stopping.
Alanyaspor had to settle for a share of the spoils for the third game running in a 3-3 draw against Kasimpasa in Sunday's encounter.
Sergio Cordova's opener and a Joao Novais double sent Omer Erdogan's men into a 3-1 after which Aytac Kara and Mortadha Ben Ouanes netted eight minute apart to level matters.
With seven points from five matches so far, Alanyaspor sit ninth in the standings but could move into the top four by emerging victorious this weekend.
Currently without defeat in five home matches on the bounce, Sunday's hosts have shown they are no pushovers in front of their fans ahead of what arguably their toughest assignment of the season to date.
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Team News
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Lincoln remains sidelined with a long-term knee problem which has seen him fail to feature for Fenerbahce since the middle of last season.
The away side will also be without the services of Emre Mor, with the forward still nursing a muscle injury he picked up while on pre-season duty.
Michy Batshuayi found the back of the net on his return to the starting lineup and could be set to retain his place in the XI at the expense of Edin Dzeko.
Following his two-goal haul against Kasimpasa, Joao Novais has now scored half of Alanyaspor's six league goals this term, making him one to look out for.
Twenty-six-year-old Sergio Cordova was on target for the home side on his full debut last time out and will be looking to pick up where he left off.
Alanyaspor possible starting lineup:
Taskiran; Augusto, Bayir, Aliti, Ozdemir; Karaca, Novais, Richard, Eduardo; Janvier, Cordova
Fenerbahce possible starting lineup:
Livakovic; Osayi-Samuel, Aziz, Becao, Kadioglu; Zajc, Fred; Under, Szymanski, Tadic; Batshuayi
We say: Alanyaspor 1-2 Fenerbahce
Given Fenerbahce's form heading into this one, it is hard to envisage any other outcome than a win for them. We can see the visitors getting the job done and maintaining their perfect start to the season.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
