Ankaragucu will be aiming to cause a major upset and record their first win of the 2023-24 Turkish Super Lig season when they host Fenerbahce on Sunday.
The visitors, who finished second last time out, head into the weekend top of the table having won both of their matches so far.
Match preview
After bouncing back to the Turkish Super Lig at the first attempt, Ankaragucu narrowly survived relegation last season, ultimately finishing five places but only two points clear of the relegation zone in an incredibly tight battle.
Indeed, there were only three points between Kasimpasa in 10th and Giresunspor in the first relegation spot, meaning plenty of teams went into the final day of the season unsure of their safety. Despite losing 2-1 at home to Adana Demirspor, Ankaragucu avoided finishing in the relegation zone for a third successive time when competing at this level.
That stat exists because they were spared relegation in the 2019-20 season due to COVID-19, so they will be desperate to avoid becoming embroiled in another battle this time around. They have followed up losing to Kasimpasa on the opening day with successive 1-1 draws against Adana Demirspor and Fatih Karagumruk, with Tolunay Kafkas's side showing decent spirit to come from behind on both occasions.
However, they will require more than togetherness to avoid defeat against Fenerbahce on Sunday, with the visitors set to arrive in Ankara full of confidence given their perfect record in the league so far.
© Reuters
Having failed to lift the Turkish Super Lig since 2014, meaning it will be 10 years since their last triumph by the end of the current campaign, Fenerbahce will be determined to see that barren run come to an end.
There have been five second-placed finishes in the ensuing nine seasons, including each of the last two campaigns, but they are embarking on a new era under the tutelage of Ismail Kartal after Jorge Jesus departed during the summer.
Kartal was assistant manager at Fenerbahce for their aforementioned previous title win before he oversaw the following campaign as a manager, but he will be hoping for greater success this time around, and his players have certainly started like they mean business.
Gaziantep FK and Samsunspor have both been swatted aside in the league, while Zimbru, Maribor and FC Twente have all been dispatched during the Europa Conference League qualifying rounds, meaning the Yellow Canaries will have a chance of winning a European competition for the first time in the club's history.
That said, winning the league will undoubtedly be Kartal's priority, and he will expect his players to return from Ankara with all three points at the weekend to ensure that they head into the international break with a perfect record.
Team News
© Reuters
Ankaragucu have several unregistered players on their books at present, with Murat Sipahioglu, Hasan Ali Kaldirim, Mahmut Altinkaya, Ulas Yilmaz, Emre Eren, Yasir Karabay and former Manchester United striker Federico Macheda all unavailable for selection.
However, Kafkas appears to have no injury concerns to worry about at the moment, meaning he is free to select what he considers to be his strongest starting XI. Former Augsburg goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz will continue between the posts following his summer move from the Bundesliga.
Fenerbahce, meanwhile, will travel without Emre Mor and Samet Akaydin due to muscle strains, with both players expected to return after the international break. However, Lincoln is expected to be sidelined for the rest of the year due to an ACL injury.
Kartal must guard against fatigue given his squad's recent fixture pile-up having navigated their way through three qualifying ties in Europe already, but former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko continues to defy his age and will almost certainly lead the visitors' line.
Ankaragucu possible starting lineup:
Gikiewicz; Bilazer, Radakovic, Cetin, Mujakic; Dokanovic, Cigerci, Bekiroglu; Morutan, Sowe, Cephas
Fenerbahce possible starting lineup:
Egribayat; Kadioglu, Aziz, Djiku, Oosterwolde; Yandas, Yuksek, Fred; Under, Dzeko, Tadic
We say: Ankaragucu 1-3 Fenerbahce
Ankaragucu will hope that their lack of midweek fixture will give them more of a chance of claiming a positive result than usual here, but Fenerbahce are going to take some stopping in the Turkish Super Lig this season.
They have added serious quality to their ranks with the likes of Dzeko, Fred and Dusan Tadic all joining, and we can envisage them retaining their perfect record on Sunday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Brett Curtis
