Two sides fighting for a place in the top four of the Turkish Super Lig come together on Friday evening when Besiktas host Caykur Rizespor at Vodafone Park.
The hosts are fifth in the league coming into this game and trail fourth-placed Istanbul Basaksehir by just a point, while the visitors are three points adrift of the top four.
Match preview
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Besiktas have had a difficult time this season and come into this game facing the possibility of finishing outside of the top four for the second time in three years, having previously secured a top-four finish in all of the 10 years prior.
The inconsistent results have led to the Black and Whites having had five managers throughout the course of this campaign, with Senol Gunes initially leading Besiktas into the new season before being sacked at the beginning of October.
Since then they have seen Burak Yilmaz, Riza Calimbay, Serdar Topraktepe and Fernando Santos take charge, with Topraktepe now back at the helm in his second interim spell of the term.
A run of poor results in recent weeks, picking up just one win in their last seven league fixtures, has resulted in Besiktas dropping outside of the top four for the first time since matchday 15 and they come into this crucial match against top-four rivals Caykur Rizespor trailing fourth place by a single point.
Just four league fixtures remain until the season ends, leaving Besiktas desperately needing to turn their form around and start picking up victories if they are to have any chance of finishing within the top four and qualify for European competition.
Their upcoming opponents may prove to be a tough task for the hosts with the visitors also battling for fourth spot before the league comes to a close as they trail fourth place by three points.
Caykur Rizespor have only occupied a position within the European qualification places for two matchdays this term and despite a run of five matches without victory through February threatening to disrupt their top-four ambitions, four wins and a draw in their last seven have kept them firmly in the race.
Fortunately for the hosts, Ilhan Palut's men have struggled for results on the road as they have taken only 12 points from a possible 48 when playing away from home, the seventh-fewest in the league.
Palut will be hoping his side can turn that away form around in their final games, with three of their last four seeing them travel to opposition grounds, and a win here against top-four rivals Besiktas could be a pivotal result in the battle for fourth.
Team News
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The home side are set to be without up to eight players for this vital match against Caykur Rizespor.
Ali Al-Musrati is set to serve the first game of his suspension following a red card in the previous outing against Fenerbahce.
Amir Hadziahmetovic is out for the remainder of the season having suffered a cruciate ligament injury in January.
Ante Rebic, Bakhtiyor Zaynutdinov, Emrecan Terzi, Ege Tiknaz, Tayfur Bingol and Arda Kilic are all also expected to be out for this one.
As for the visitors, they are set to be without four players, none of whom are consistent starters, in this one.
Janne-Pekka Laine, Benhur Keser, Mithat Pala are all out for the foreseeable future, while Okechukwu Azubuike is out for the remainder of the season.
Besiktas possible starting lineup:
Gunok; Svensson, Worrall, Uysal, Masuaku; Ucan, Fernandes; Rashica, Muci, Muleka; Kilicsoy
Caykur Rizespor possible starting lineup:
Akkan; Sahin, Aliqulov, Topcu, Hojer; Olawoyin, Shelvey; Akintola, Varesanovic, Zeqiri; Gaich
We say: Besiktas 2-1 Caykur Rizespor
Besiktas may have struggled for victories in recent fixtures, but their home form is far superior to Caykur Rizespor's away results, leading us to believe the hosts will run away with the victory here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
